Hello All,

I'm new to this, so please bear with me! I could really do with any advice regarding my Transfer of Equity problem.

My ex-husband and I separated over 2yrs ago and subsequently divorced last year. He was not co-operative throughout the entire divorce proceedings nor was he during the court proceedings regarding the Transfer of Title Deeds on our property (which was mine before he moved in); the title deeds were transferred to my sole name and the Courts deemed that he has no further claim on my estate/finances.

In addition to the above, I was left with a vast sum of debt, which I cannot clear because my credit rating isn't good and I can't obtain a re-mortgage (in addition, my house would not sell for enough to cover the outstanding debts). My mortgage provider initially (approx 12mths ago) would only agree to transfer the deeds and not the actual mortgage (transfer of equity), as there were arrears on the mortgage (caused by ex-husband) and they required at least 6mths clear of those, which I have achieved.

I now wish to remove my ex-husband from the mortgage and transfer it to either my sole name or if an advance can be agreed, with my new partner. To save going through the courts again, which was very time consuming and expensive, I contacted my ex-husband (luckily I still have his contact number, seeing as I have no idea where he is now residing) to see if he would agree to sign the mortgage over to me, given that he lost on all accounts last time we (I) went to court - he didn't bother to show up on all occasions! I thought this would enable us both to move on; however, he is requesting money from me in order to clear one of his (many) debts. Apart from the fact I cannot afford to do this, the court order states that he has no further claim to my estate/finances etc. He also declined an offer of £1500 that I offered at the beginning of the financial proceedings.

I cannot afford to take this to court, as I am already in a vast amount of debt due to him and am currently paying my solicitor by monthly instalments, as I couldn't afford to pay the bill. When I first contacted my solicitor, I was not in a position to claim legal aid; if I were to pursue this via the courts, could I claim legal aid via a different solicitor (mine does not accept legal aid even I were entitled) and what would be my chances of winning?

This is my situation in a nutshell - I can provide more info if anyone needs it to assist me in my situation. I would just like to hear from anyone who has been or is in a similar situation or has knowledge of these matters, as to be quite honest, I'm slightly confused and totally exasperated with the whole thing!!!

Many thanks
Grace

You do not need the cooperation of your ex or the courts. You and/or your new partner need to sort out a new mortgage and use that to pay off the old one. If you can't get a new mortgage, you will have to leave things as they are or sell the property as it is unlikely that your mortgage provider will let you simply change the names on the mortgage.

Your issue is with the lender. Even if your ex wanted to be taken off the mortgage agreement, any changes must be agreed with the lender.

Thanks for your advice; however, we tried to re-mortgage back in June without success due to my poor credit rating. Although I checked it yesterday via Experian and it has improved quite a bit over the last few months.

If I were to try to re-mortgage again now my credit rating has improved, can I do that without any input from my ex? Presumably I can, as the old mortgage would be settled, the lender would get their money so they wouldn't care and my partner and I would have a new mortgage with a different company which has nothing to do with my ex?

gracie99:

can I do that without any input from my ex? Presumably I can, as the old mortgage would be settled, the lender would get their money so they wouldn't care and my partner and I would have a new mortgage with a different company which has nothing to do with my ex?

Yes. You could use the same company or a different company for the new mortgage - whoever offers the best deal for you.

That's great - thanks!!! Now all I've got to do is get a re-mortgage...!