Q&A Forum - May 2014

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The first step was for my wife to revert to using her maiden name and I then legally changed my surname to her maiden name. All documents, including our passports, were changed to show that as a husband and wife, I had now taken her name. Next, we contacted all the organizations we have links with and instructed them that from now on all correspondence had to address us as “Mrs & Mr” instead of the usual “Mr & Mrs”. We felt that it was important to ensure that my wife is always referred to first to validate that she is the head of the household.

Shortly afterwards, my wife took out a lasting power of attorney over me. She filled in the forms and had them registered, and I then certified them for her, thus giving her the legal right to do anything in my name without consulting me. Following this, we decided that she should have sole control over all our assets and that everything should be placed in her name. I’ll never forget the excitement on her face as she made the arrangements to have my name removed from our property deeds. Now, all our assets, including our home and our cars, are in my wife’s name only.