Vol. 439 No. 5
179 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform the steps, if any, he intends to take to make it mandatory for all financial institutions to provide legal advice to spouses before signing any document allowing the family home to be used as security for loans or other forms of credit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Under section 3 of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976, the conveyance (which includes a mortgage) of an interest in a family home by a spouse will not, in general, be valid unless the prior consent in writing of the other spouse has first been obtained. In many cases it may be desirable for couples to seek legal advice in circumstances where they decide to mortgage the family home for the purpose of securing a loan. I have no proposals to amend the law so as to impose an obligation on all couples to receive legal advice in such circumstances. However, the law in this area is under review in my Department and decisions on any proposals I may bring forward will be announced in the normal way.
