Severance of Tenancy

When two people buy a property together, it’s usually as joint tenants. In the event of one partner dying, the whole of the property automatically transfers to the other. However, there may be circumstances in which this isn’t what you want – such as after a divorce, if you’ve put in an unequal amount of investment into the property or with rental properties, for example. In these cases, you might want to switch to being ‘tenants in common’ through a Severance of Tenancy.

Becoming tenants in common gives each partner a specific share of the property, and can have a number of benefits. It gives you more flexibility and control over what happens to your property after your death; it allows co-owners of rental properties to receive income in unequal shares, to be more tax-efficient; and in the case of divorce it prevents your ex-spouse automatically inheriting, thus avoiding disputes and protecting your share for the beneficiaries you want it to go to.

To see how a Severance of Tenancy might help you, get in touch below.