When you buy a property with your partner, there are different ways in which you can own it which should be discussed with you by your conveyancer. Often, people don’t fully understand or properly consider this as the purchase of the property is exciting and you don’t usually think about what will happen if you split up or one of you dies
This issue is particularly important if you do split up because how you own the property usually determines how it is divided up between you. When you are not married, there is very little a court can do other than to follow what the title deeds say
Basically, you will either buy the property as tenants in common or beneficial joint tenants. Tenants in common own different and separate proportions of the same property and these proportions do not have to be equal. For example, one person can own 75% of the property and the other 25%. This situation frequently happens if one person is putting more money into the purchase than the other. Beneficial joint tenants both own the whole property at the same time and do not own, for example, half each. This means that if one person dies, the house is automatically owned by the other. A share in the property cannot be left in a Will. If you therefore wish to ensure that you keep your share in the property safe, it is best to buy as tenants in common. This is recommended where, for example, one person has children from a previous relationship and wants to ensure their share in the property can be left in a Will for those children
If you own your property as beneficial joint tenants and your relationship breaks down, it is sometimes wise to change to being tenants in common and this can be done by serving notice on the other owner. This is something I can assist with, as well as explaining the above in more detail so don’t hesitate to get in touch