I don't suppose the husband is going to put the wife's name on the mortgage - just the deed.

Somebody can be granted ownership or partial ownership of a property when they don't carry the mortgage on that property.

A deed is an instrument used to transfer or "convey* ownership of real property.
Lawyer - never hurts to have legal counsel, especially when in doubt of any pitfalls, or at worst not really knowing what you're doing. But I suppose a title & escrow company, along with a notary public can supply the forms and tell you how to file with your local county authority. (Now a lawyer would do all this leg work for you.)

When my husband and I split up, we had to see a lawyer to change the ownership of the house from joint ownership to me only. I truly can't see how you can do this without a lawyer.(At the same time, I renegotiated the mortgage to my name only, and paid out hubby's equity in the house)

In some states, you would not use a lawyer at all. In other states, all RE closings are done by attorneys. In California and some other states, this would be handled by an escrow company.

But here's the caveat: be sure that you ask a tax professional if there is any repercussion to the action. Better to be prepared than not. Complications would mean things like the way in whivch the property is titled, is there a trust or not, is the home entailed by some inheritance? For example, was the home left to the spouse by a previous spouse? Would there be children from a previous relationship who would have an interest in the house (mom died, and wanted her children to have something from the property, and now the children would have nothing.) If the property is owned by virtual of an inheritance, say from his parents, he is now giving away part of it and not keeping his inheritance separate,

There are a lot more questions to ask, aren't there?

I suppose there may be some states where you would need a lawyer, but mostly doing this is really very simple. A single page quit claim deed with the compensation listed as "for $1.00 + love and affection" is usually all that is called for. IF you don't know where to get the form - you can find it as easily as you found this forum. The idea that the common man can't figure out his/her own affairs is just something that attorneys want you to believe.

IF there are complications beyond what the OP stated then perhaps legal advice is called for, otherwise I would say do it yourself or at least see what is required in your state before handing yourself over to a lawyer

Thanks -- I will start by calling our county and asking about the quit claim deed.

I don't see how this can work at all for the situation described by the original poster... by definition, a QUIT claim deed transfers ALL ownership to the grantee. ADDING someone to a deed would be a different matter entirely, no?

"A deed is essentially a piece of paper that transfers interest in land from one person, called the grantor, to another, called the grantee. It's essentially a real estate contract. To be legally effective, it must be signed by the grantor and describe the land being conveyed. A quitclaim deed, sometimes erroneously referred to as a "quick claim deed" or "quit claim deed," is one type of deed. There are also warranty deeds � both a special warranty deed and a general warranty deed. The quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has in the property to the grantee."

The OP is probably long gone by now. I found the original post a bit confusing - or least lacking a certain clarity.

House owning "Husband" gets married (for the second time after a divorce? Or using husband instead of man gets married and becomes a husband?) Or the new husband, in a grand act of what's mine is yours. etc.etc. simply wants to ADD the wife's name to the house deed rather than give away the property.

As ottawa said, A quitclaim deed is a term used to describe a document by which a person (the "grantor") disclaims any interest the grantor may have in a piece of real property and passes that claim to another person (the grantee).

Since there's a mortgage, we must only guess that the wife (ex or current) wants to assume the mortgage.

Not long gone...

Let me clarify.

Wife is currently on the mortgage (do to refinancing). Only husband (and lender) "owns" the home. There is no ex-wife in this scenario.

Wife recently went to pull a permit for some work at the house and they would not let her because according to the city/county she does not "own" the home.

I imagine this could also be problematic if the husband were to die unexpectedly.

It seems using a quit claim deed would not work because the husband would lose his interest in the home??

Very very easy to do by yourself.
You use a quitclaim deed with the current owner(husband) as the Grantor, and then the Grantee is the husband and wife.

Use language similar to this, make sure the Grantor has it notarized and recorded:

Quit-Claim Deed

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS THAT, HUSBANDS NAME HERE, a married man, the Grantor, claiming title and for the valuable consideration received to my full satisfaction of HUSBAND NAME HERE, WIFES NAME HERE, the Grantees, a married couple, whose tax-mailing address will be: ADDRESS OF PROPERTY HERE.

GIVE, GRANT, BARGAIN, REMISE, RELEASE AND FOREVER QUIT-CLAIM unto said Grantee, his heirs and assigns forever all such right, title and interest as I, the said Grantor, have or ought to have in and to the following described piece or parcel of land:

LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the premises aforesaid with the appurtenances there-unto belonging to the said Grantee, his heirs and assigns, so the said Grantor, nor her heirs, nor any other person claiming title through or unto her, shall or will hereafter claim or demand any rights or title to the premises, or any part thereof, but they and every one of them shall by the presents be excluded and forever barred.

Check with your State laws for additional information. Above is for informational purposes only.

We used a title company, but I found out later I we could have done it ourselves at the court house.

My husband and I have been married for 24 yrs, with a split up of 9 months, 2 years back, then reconciliation in 4/09. One of the conditions was that I had to filke bankruptcy, as he decided he wasnt going to pay for any bills only in my name. I will go for that for charges during our separation, but now realize, there was actually much debt that was HIS TOO, that he got off scott free with. It ruined my credit, (and I basically went under his umbrella financially, as I look back, I am just now seeing the light!) In 8/09 we found a home, and becuase of my bankruptcy, we had to keep me off of the Title all together, and I had to sign off on this for the loan to go through. The Buyer's Title Vesting appears as follows: "Mr. Fischer...A Married Man as his sole and Seperate Property....I was verbaly told by him and the escrow company that I could be added after we closed. I only need to be on the DEED portion. It will help my credit, it will prevent liens on the property, and it will keep him from trying to sell the house without my persmission. (as during every argument, he threatens to sell the house, becuase he knows I love it, and those words hurt. I have put thousands and thousands of $ of my own into this house, and at least 2000 hours of design time (I'm an Interiuor Designer)into improvements which has raised value probably $75,000 or so, but the market is at it's lowest, so I do not not know if it has done anything for house value yet, but it certainly will when the markets starts going back up. I was even told to document my hours that are above & beyond normal wifely duties. What are the other advantages for me to be put on the deed? He has become secretive about finances, distrustful, difficult, and now sneaky man, not holding up to his word. The money put down for the house, was a 25,000 gift from his Father against his inheritance, (but I have my signature on it)and then another $30,000 was "OUR Community Property" Money as married partners, state of CA, 18 months haqve passed and I am still not on deed.

Every time I bring things up, he ignores them, he has told me to get paperwork ready, then he still wont run down to the notary pblic, and it's just a few bucks, I am so pissed, and now do not trust him at all. With the economy and our marraige so shaky, I need to take action to protect me and my children. I want to stay cool, but many problems have occurred due to this promise never kept, even the police have been out from the arguments and verbal abuse about money when I ask to see our assets., I am also having difficulty getting him to change and update our 12 year old will to reflect all of the changes..to make current. There are other financial things I am not happy with either, but I think ya'll can see the crappy picture here. He has been doing odd things as well...voice recording me, taking pictures illegally at the pharmacy counter of my prescribed medications, and many other bizarre things. What in the hell do I do? I am thinking of calling his Father, but not wanting to go to that extreme. Plkease help me, all suggestions as quickly as possible, as him and I are supposed to have a meeting about all of this tonight. If we cannot keep our conversation in a mature and productive manner, then I will need to set up a meeting with a professional 3rd party I guess, and I want a financial portfolio plan to start working on in a positive and educated manner. I am 48, and at the age that all of these things are important to me. I am not sitting comfortably. I want to be. I want the fear gone. I want to stay in my lovely home.

Cheryl: You don't have money problems, you have marriage problems that are playing out through your finances. You need marriage counseling.

In our state you can't file bankruptcy just in your name if you are married. You both are responsible for each others bills, you have to both file the same bankruptcy. If you get a divorce the judge will divide the bills and the income.