# Judgement Mortgage  on Family Home which is in wife's name only



## tinal (10 Nov 2011)

Hi All
My husband owes money to the bank.  He has written to them (via his solicitor) and has arranged to pay a monthly sum to clear the debt. He received a letter from the Banks Solicitors saying that they are willing to accept his proposal of the monthly payments, subject to periodic reviews. This is great news.  However, there is one line in the letter that is worrying me still:

"Please note that this offer is subject to Judgement and Judgement Mortgagae being obtained to sercure our clients position"

I have 2 questions on this that I would love your opinion on:
1: Can he start paying straight away or does he have to wait until the judgement is obtained?
2: The only property we have is our family home.  I bought this house before we were married and therefore only my name appears on the mortgage and on the deeds.  Can they place the Judgement Mortgage on our family home?

Many thanks in advance

t


----------



## ClubMan (10 Nov 2011)

What did his solicitor advise regarding these questions?


----------



## tinal (10 Nov 2011)

1. He advised him to pay as agreed.
2. He said that the Judgement Mortgage was only a formality and not to worry about it. That it wouldn't be an issue if my husband paid the amount per month as agreed.

I have set up the Standing Order today but I am not happy with the Solicitors answer to No.2.  I rang him and also the Banks solicitors, but they can not speak to me as I am not an "authorised contact".  My husband is happy to take his solicitors answer, but it does not answer my question directly.


----------



## mf1 (10 Nov 2011)

Can I suggest that you should seek your own legal advice? 

On the face of it, the property is yours and yours alone and there are no grounds upon which a Bank can place a Judgment Mortgage on the property, without your agreement,  when any judgment will be obtained against your husband, solely. 

They may not be aware that the property is in your sole name. 

mf


----------



## 44brendan (10 Nov 2011)

Agree fully with mf1. Judgement in itself is not a formality as it will mean that the case will go to the relevant Court. If judgement is not opposed by your husband it will usually be granted by the Court. A JM can only be registered against property owned or partly owned by your husband. In this case it appears that there is no property owned by him so JM would not apply. By setting up the S/O you have effectively confirmed that you are in compliance with the agreement. provided you keep to the repayment schedule you should have no further concerns over this debt.


----------



## Time (10 Nov 2011)

Standard legal letter from a bank. When they do a search they will realise they can't put a JM on the house.


----------



## dewdrop (11 Nov 2011)

Any merit in your husband writing to the lender or their solicitor pointing out that he does not own any property and therefore reference to a Judgment Mortgage is not relevant. Ask them to confirm.  While i appreciate all previous comments i can well understand how you would like to have the matter clearly clarified to remove any doubt in your mind.


----------

