I lived in a flat and then rented it out for many years before selling last year. The flat was purchased as my home after separating from my husband. I could not afford a mortgage on my own and so he jointly put his name on the mortgage and the deeds, coming off the deeds a few years later. He never lived there. I have had all the benefit of the flat and income arising from it, this being a verbal agreement. There now seems to be a bit of a pickle, as the transfer of ownership on the deeds by my husband has to be at market valuation, since we were not living together in that tax year. Nothing was done about his capital gains tax (CGT) at the time, so he will be very late indeed notifying his situation. It has been suggested, however, that perhaps he held it in bare trust for me. If this is so, I think it would mean I have full liability for the gain. If it helps here is the sequence of events: August 1998: flat purchased in joint names, I lived there alone as main residence. December 2001: I moved out to remarry. Flat rented from this date until end. March 2002: deeds altered so husband no longer joint owner, I have full ownership. April 2002: divorced. August 2014: flat sold.

If you look at www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/cgmanual/CG70230.htm you can see some of the criteria HMRC use to determine who has beneficial ownership of a property. Since your ex-husband did not live in the property, nor did he receive any of the rental income or any of the sale proceeds (I presume) you have a good argument that he was merely a bare trustee. If you look at www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/cgmanual/CG65319.htm you can see that HMRC recognise the equitable rights that a wife may have in the matrimonial home even when it runs contrary to the name in which the house is held.