I am getting married and want to add my wife to my Title and Mortgage Deed, how do I do this?

Question: I am getting married. I have a mortgage on my house, but I want to add my wife's name to it so that the house can belong to both of ours. What is the best way to do a mortgage deed transfer? Is a mortgage deed transfer even the thing that we should do here, to make sure my wife owns the property too?

Response: A mortgage and a deed transfer are separate things. The deed is a document that indicates your interest in a house. If you want to add your wife to the mortgage, you will typically need to refinance you mortgage. If you want to simply add your wife's name to the deed of the house but not add her to the mortgage, you will need to deed the house to both you and your wife (if you want both names to be on it) or just to your wife (if you only want your name to be on it). Usually, a quitclaim deed is used to change a deed into a spouses name, as no additional warranties are needed on the deed since you have the original warrantied deed from when you purchased the home. You can speak to a qualified real estate attorney for additional guidance on the best way to transfer ownership from you to your spouse and to help you determine what the best type of joint ownership structure is for your situation.

Answered by Christy Rakoczy

Additional Resources: Deed of Trust

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