Spouse Warned After Dad Gifts Husband $116,000 Inheritance Before Their Wedding

A newly married woman has written of a potentially bad situation involving her new husband and some legal issues surrounding their newly purchased house.

In the Mumsnet post, which has more than 950 comments, user howdidIgetthere wrote on Friday how, in 2021, she and her husband were struggling to buy a house.

"We were consolidating houses with my DF [father] to purchase a big house," she wrote, "and hoped that myself of my DF could be on the mortgage or deeds as a safety due to my DF helping with the deposit."

The woman continued: "To cut a long story and identifying details this wasn't possible. Neither of us could be on a plausible mortgage, and the lenders wouldn't like us on the deeds either. But we needed a house.

"So as I was already engaged, we agreed between us that my DF would 'gift' 100k [British pounds, or $116,000] of inheritance to my DH [husband] so that he could solely purchase the house, but we would get married beforehand to safeguard my stake."

The poster goes on to describe how they eloped, and her father gifted the money and the house was bought in her husband's name only.

The Mumsnet poster wrote: "As far as I know, because the house was purchased after marriage, I have a stake in the house should we divorce, and can get some of that value back in lieu of my inheritance/not be left with no money and nowhere to live.

"However, since the purchase the house has had extensive renovations and its value is increasing significantly. I have noticed that my DH keeps referring to people that the purchase date was back in the summer, months before our marriage."

The woman said she is aware that the closing date was not until a month after they were married, but when she tried to speak to her husband about the situation, he criticized her for "questioning him."

"This is obviously very worrying for me, as if he bought it before we were married or some other loophole then in the case of divorce I have lost most of my inheritance and have no stake on the house!!!... Have we been misled and given away my inheritance, or is my DH wrong and for some reason trying to say something that's incorrect?"

Replying to a later comment, she wrote: "No my credit isn't really bad, it's just not good. it's just below the threshold."

Many users in the comments questioned why she didn't seek legal advice, with user ChiefWiggamsBoy writing, "Who told you this? There isn't a 'threshold' - and even if you went through a broker, they don't know the individual lender's credit score requirements and tbh neither would any person there, it's automatic.

"And if yours is low then your husband's would have made up for it. Old defaults - if less than 6 years would remain, but you could have still been on the mortgage. Just maybe a different lender. I feel like you've been shafted OP."

California-based legal advice company Nolo writes on its website: "In most cases the risks inherent in putting a jointly owned house in one person's name far outweigh the benefits.

"If your partner is the only one named on the deed (and is therefore presumed to be sole owner), you may be out of luck if your partner sells the house and pockets the money, or dies and leaves it to someone else."

Nolo says, if one member of the couple has a credit rating that will "absolutely doom loan application," it's possible to add their name to the deed immediately after completion, although there may be extra, often-expensive costs.

Nolo also outlines the risk to both people with this strategy and recommends hiring an experienced real-estate lawyer, as with only one person on the deed, creditors may claim that you are trying to conceal assets from them.

Dragonskin wrote: "So you basically just have your DH word for all of it. Oh dear OP you have been exceptionally naive at every step here."

"Did you read the paperwork you signed? Was it witnessed? By whom? This all sounds deeply suspicious," endofthelinefinally commented.

IrisVersicolor wrote: "Your father put 100k into a house and you didn't involve yourself in the purchase at all? Who has been the source of your information other than your now DH because it sounds like he's been telling you nonsense."

Newsweek was not able to verify the details of the case.