What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common?
For most couples, the home is the biggest asset they will ever own — and the way the ownership is set up decides what happens to it before any will is even read:
- Joint tenants own the whole property together, as one unit. When one owner dies, it passes automatically to the survivor — this is called the right of survivorship, and it overrides anything a will says. Your will cannot gift "your half" of a jointly held home; legally, there is no half to gift.
- Tenants in common each own a defined share — often 50/50, but it can be any split. Your share is a real asset of yours, and on your death it passes through your will (or, if you have no will, under the intestacy rules).
You can check which you are in five minutes: your title register at HM Land Registry usually shows a "Form A restriction" for tenants in common.
What happens to a shared home without a will?
- Joint tenants: the home reaches the survivor automatically — married or not. But everything else you own follows the intestacy rules. If you're married with children, that means personal chattels plus the first £322,000 plus half the residue to your spouse. If you're unmarried, your partner inherits nothing beyond the house.
- Tenants in common: your share follows your will — or, without one, intestacy. A married survivor will usually inherit it; an unmarried survivor won't, and can end up co-owning the home with your parents or siblings, sometimes facing a forced sale.
- The mortgage doesn't care either way. Joint borrowers are each liable for the whole debt. The survivor must keep paying or negotiate with the lender — a will redirects ownership, not the loan. This is why wills and life cover belong in the same conversation.
What does a will cover if you own a home with a partner?
- Tenants in common: leave your share to your partner so the survivor keeps the whole home — or to your children, if that suits your family better.
- Joint tenants: cover everything the survivorship doesn't reach — savings, pensions paid into the estate, possessions — and decide what happens on the second death or if you die together.
- Unmarried couples: a will is your only protection. Without one, intestacy gives your partner nothing; our guide to wills for unmarried couples explains the full exposure.
- Both of you: name executors and backstop beneficiaries. Most couples do this as mirror wills — a matching pair, one each.
When should you sever a joint tenancy?
If you discover you're joint tenants but want your share to pass through your will, you can sever the joint tenancy: one owner serves written notice on the other and the change is recorded at the Land Registry, converting you to tenants in common. It is simple in mechanics and permanent in effect — it changes what each of you owns, so it should never be done casually or covertly.
We are will writers, not a law firm, and this is the point to bring one in. See a solicitor or conveyancer for severance itself, declarations of trust, unequal shares, or any plan involving trusts over the property — and for inheritance tax advice if the estate is large (the nil-rate band is £325,000, with an extra £175,000 residence band where a home passes to direct descendants; unmarried partners get no spouse exemption). Do I need a solicitor for a will? maps the boundary.
How do you sort wills when you own a home together?
Once you know how you own the property, the wills themselves are quick: each of you answers a plain-English interview and downloads instantly — £35 each, or £55 for a pair of mirror wills, one-time, with free updates for life and no upsells. Start here, then print and sign in wet ink before two witnesses together (the s.9 Wills Act 1837 formalities). Five minutes at the Land Registry plus half an hour at the kitchen table, and the biggest thing either of you owns is finally pointed where you want it.