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Should I add my husband to my mortgage

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  • 20-08-2023 3:27pm
    #1
    cherrytreelane
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭


    Hi all. We got married last year after 10 years together. We live in a house I bought 8 years ago, purchased under my name as he had debts at the time & we were only 2 years into the relationship so didn’t want to rush into buying property together. I presume if something were to happen to me the house would automatically go to him & the mortgage would die with me? But if something happened to him and his name is not on the mortgage I would be liable for the full repayments alone then? I could not afford the mortgage by myself so am wondering what’s the best course of action in the event something unexpected happened. Are there cons to adding his name to the mortgage at this stage? Advice appreciated : )



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    #2
    Q&A
    Registered Users Posts: 556 ✭✭✭Q&A


    Marriage has done a lot of the work for your husband but the fact the mortgage predates him does leave you exposed.

    If you die and you have mortgage protection the payout will go towards paying off the mortgage with any balance going to your estate. The house will be distributed according to your will. If there is no will and you die intestate the law of succession applies. So no real benefit in going to the trouble of addin him to the mortgage he will likely get the house.

    https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/the-deceaseds-estate/what-happens-the-deceaseds-estate/#lc8139

    If meeting the mortgage payments are dependent on your husband's income then it makes sense to insure against the worst. This is typically what a mortgage protection policy does.

    You could go to the trouble of adding him to the mortgage but that doesn't infer any protection in and of itself. You'd need a new mortgage protection policy for that.

    You can mirror the benefits of a mortgage protection policy without having to go to the trouble of reworking the mortgage. I would think the easiest thing to do is take out a life policy that pays out on his death with you as the beneficiary.

    The con to adding him to the mortgage is the time, effort and any legal costs for no real benefit. Either way it's the life policy that you really need.



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