# "separacao de bems" mortgage- help!



## alfagt (May 24, 2014)

Hi all,

My wife and I are in the process of buying a house out here, and for personal reasons we want the mortgage to be in my name only. Several banks are happy to give me a mortgage, but not until they see a document from the UK that states that our marriage is under the "_separacao de bems_" (separation of assets) regime.

It turns out that here in Portugal, when a couple get married they have to decide if they're going to share their finances or keep everything separate. This is then noted on their marriage certificate & is legally binding. The problem is, banks here can't get their heads round the fact that in the UK there's no such thing, so they're demanding to see a document that doesn't exist!

Has anyone else been in this position and how did you get round it? I'm running out of ideas!! (And please remember, the mortgage has to be solely in my name. Oh, and divorce is only ever going to be a last resort option!)


Thank you all!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Marriage in UK brings with it certain rights for both partners but I don't believe there is an equivalent to "separacao de bems",think you should look at a legally binding pre nuptial agreement, can you do a post nuptial agreement? that might suffice, but I'd check with Bank that they would accept this in lieu of "separacao de bems"

If they will then I would think you need to consult a good UK Lawyer specializing in marriage to see what's possible.

Not the banks here can't get their heads around it, you want a sole mortgage so they need to protect their interest and follow Portuguese Law, any number of conflicts between countries Laws


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## paramonte (Sep 9, 2007)

Alfagt: sorry did not quite understand your message as you say that you have an UK document that states that your marriage is equivalent to the pt "_separação de bens_" then you declare that _"in the UK there's no such thing" _

Anyhow the reason banks here get nervous about giving a mortgage to a a person married under "separação de bens" (and that person wanting to be the sole on the mortgage plan ) is that legally, the bank only has one person to chase in case the mortgage payments are not done. So, basically a lack of warranty if your income (yours only, not your wife´s) is not high enough to make the bank comfortable. Whatever is your marriage regimen (asset separation or not) if you apply to the mortgage as a dual ownership that will make the bank more comfortable as he has two people to chase in case there is a default on the payments-

If you included your wife´s income in the mortgage application, and then want to be the sole owner of the property, that rings all the wrong bells in the bank managers...


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