My (Japanese) wife bought our apartment (in Japan) in her name a few years ago. She used a bit of inheritance money, but I’ve been paying half the mortgage payment every month and plan on paying most of it if she leaves her job soon. She recently took my last name (due to my naturalization) and I think I will need to change that on the mortgage. I was thinking to put my name on it too, while we’re at it. There are no trust issues and really don't see ourselves divorcing after like 20 years of marriage, and we’ve said that if anything terrible happens to one of us, the other person would get the apartment. (I have proof of all payments and my name is on the juminhyō).
My main question is if there are any negative repercussions if my name is added to the mortgage. For example, would it be harder to get a second mortgage?
The positives — it would be easier to take over if anything were to happen to her. But since we’re already married and I have proof of paying half, maybe that’s moot? If we were both to die unexpectedly, then it would be easier to pass on half of the money to my family? Thanks much for any personal insights.
by ChillyGut