• Non UK Citizen Who Is Resident In The US Registering Interest In Property

    By Guest on 03rd Jan 2017

    Good Morning,



    I own a property in the UK that my mother and father live in alone. I would like to transfer ownership of the property to my new wife as my ex-wife, who is an American citizen and lives in the USA, is threatening to put a lien on the house via the UK Land registry, because she believes that I will not pay child support for our son, who she abducted to the US, past the age of 18. I have great difficulty in regularly paying the child support as the state system does not permit me to use non US cheques, drafts, cash or credit cards and I am constantly looking for new methods of payment. She has done this once before but agreed to remove it in the US separation agreement 3 years ago. Am I able to transfer the ownership to my new wife and will this protect the property from my ex-wife if she attempts to put another lien on the house? I am the sole mortgage holder so will I need to change the name on the mortgage? If it is feasible could you advise the correct procedure or do I not need to worry about a non UK citizen registering an interest in my house....can I simply ask the Land registry to remove it? I am a UK citizen.



    Thank you for you help

  • 1 Answers

    By Guest on 01/03/2017

    Anyone who has a legitimate claim to the equity in a property can register a restriction or notice to protect the priority of that interest, whoever the legal owner is. Getting a restriction or notice registered does not validate the interest claimed however, it merely protects the priority if it is valid. Registering a claim to an interest when no valid interest exists however is an offence and as the owner of the property you can sue for any loss you suffer a result of the registration. If your ex wife does try to register something again then speak to a solicitor immediately

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