Dissolution of Joint Property Ownership in Spain

[Enid]

Please advise if I can sell my property in Spain without my husbands permission. The property contract is totally in my name and totally paid for by me. But on the contract he signed it with my signature.

[Enid]

Clarifying my above post the last sentence should read ''But on the Contract he signed it TOGETHER with my signature''.

[clari]

we bought a home in spain as residents and my son was put on the mortgage to give it more years he has paid no money at all neither deposit or monthly as this money comes from the bank where only mine and my partners nominas are paid, he now has moved out after an argument and says the house is as much his as ours we are frightened he can enter at any time because of this and he is violent and abusive what do you advise and what are our legal rights

[Patricia]

Hello Clari,

If your son also appears in the house deeds, and is therefore an owner, he will certainly have rights over the property. You mention that he is on the mortgage deeds, though do not confirm if he also appears in the property deeds. Usually, the person who appears in the mortgage deeds also appear in the property title deeds. If he only appears in the mortgage deeds, your partner and you are the legal owners of the house, leaving your son in a weak position.

I would need to check the deeds to advice further, so please do not hesitate to continue the communications by e-mail through our contact form if you wish.

Regards,

[Patricia]

Hello Enid,

You will have to check the property deeds and find out who is the registered owner of the property. If you are both owners, the sale will have to be agreed by you both. If one of you do not agree to sell, to a third party or to the co-owner who wants to keep the property, the other co-owner can force a sale by court order to dissolve the joint ownership. However, even if you were the registered owner but appeared on the deeds as married, being the dwelling the family home, your husband´s consent would be required to sell.

Best Regards,

[mr Moore]

For the attention of Patrica,
you kindly answered my questions below, however I have heard that my wife can divorce me without my consent and take the house, is this correct?
Patricia Says:
Fri, Oct 14th 2011, 10:37

I am separating from my wife and the house is in her name only as she is a citizen of spain, I am a resident. Do I have claim to half the house, this was bought with joint funds whilst married. she has now told me that I cannot enter the house alone. All my belongings are still in the house. What rights do I have ? Dear Mr. Moore, She is the legal owner as she is the only one appearing on the deeds. After the divorce, if married in spouses joint property ( regime by default in Spanish marriages ), the assets will be liquidated according to that. If the house is the conjugal address, you are allowed to enter the property though preferably once she has been informed of your decision to enter the property to gather your things, arranging a date and time and that there are witnesses of your visit, so there are no misunderstandings nor she can claim that you took belongings without her consent. Regards,

[jodie]

i have divorced from my husband in england. We had a joint property in spain, but the judges over here concluded that i should take over the home in england and buy him out.... which i did. He should be then left the spanish home, he now wants my name off the deeds of the house, hes telling me that i have to pay over 10 thousand pounds..... is this correct, is this my duty to pay. after all i bought my share of the house in england off him and therefore if he wants my name removing shouldnt this be up to him to pay? help needed please

[Patricia]

Dear Mr. Moore,

It is certainly true that you wife can file for divorce without your agreement.

If you are married according to the British system, where the estates are separate, and the house is registered in her name, she will be considered to be holding 100% ownership. In the event that the ruling system is the shared possession, you had children in common and she had higher earnings than you, as well as other variables, there could be different interpretations.
You mention that the house was purchased with joint funds. In that case, when arranging the divorce settlement, you could claim the refund of the amounts that you paid to help pay your ex-partners´ house.

I hope this informaiton has been helpful.

Regards,

[Patricia]

Hello Jo,

The property ownership can only be dissolved through a sale of percentages, as dissolution only takes place when there are two owners and one wants to step out. Partial dissolutions do not exist, but percentage sales that the tax office will later claim. The costs involved are the 7% transfer tax, lawyer, Notary and Land Registry fees.

We can assist in the process so please feel free to send us more information about the case through our website´s contact form.

Regards,

[Patricia]

Hello Jodie,


The amount your ex-husband is claiming to transfer ownership of the house, seems to be the 3% CGT retention that needs to be paid at the tax office. You must pay this amount bearing in mind that this can be later refunded ( in full, or part of it ) depending on the results the tax declaration reveal. Most notaries we work with will not request that a retention on account CGT is made, when selling the property, to the vendor and we have never had any issues with the tax office. Of course, if you wish to select a Notary that thinks differently it is also possible.

In any case, we recommend you to finalise the proceedings of the property transfer at the earliest as while you are on the deeds you still have the obligation to pay the 50% of the property expenses ( Council Tax, Income Tax, Community charges, etc )

Please feel free to communicate with us through our website´s contact form to find out what is your actual situation as we can assist throghout the process.

Regards,