Focus SWW Winter 2021 | Page 12

SEVERANCE
OF JOINT
TENNANCY
Let ’ s first have a look at the difference between holding the home as joint tenants and tenants in common .
How is your property held ? Joint Tenancy
If you hold your property as joint tenants with another person , this means that both owners own 100 % of the property , not a divided share . You have equal rights to the whole property , and if the property is sold you will each be entitled to an equal share of the proceeds . A joint tenancy creates rights of survivorship . The result is that when one owner dies the remaining owners will automatically own the whole property . This means that a joint tenant cannot gift their interest in the property to anyone by their Will . Tenants in Common
If you hold your property as tenants in common , you will each have a divided share in the property . This is often an equal share , but it is also possible to hold the property in unequal shares . This is an attractive option for people purchasing a property together and contributing different amounts towards the deposit . shares . This is an attractive option for people purchasing a property together and contributing different amounts towards the deposit . Under a tenancy in common , each owner can deal with their share in the property separately , allowing them to gift their share to their own beneficiaries by their Will . This also opens up more opportunities for planning to protect their share of the property by using trusts in their Will .

As a technical team , we come across queries on the subject of severances on a daily basis so we thought this article might help answer those common questions or misconceptions .

It doesn ’ t need to refer to the reasons for the unilateral severance .
Is there a fee to submit the SEV form ? There is no fee for submitting the SEV form .
Is it the same process if my home is unregistered ? If your home is not registered with the land registry , you can only complete the notice of severance . The SEV form is only completed for properties that are registered with the land registry .
We would encourage you to register your home during your lifetime if your property is unregistered . What happens if I die before the title register is changed ? If the notice of severance has already been signed , this evidences your intention to hold the property as tenants in common . It is the notice of severance and not the SEV form that indicates the intention to hold the property as tenants in common . If , however , no notice of severance was signed before you pass away , the property would still be held as joint tenants and therefore the deceased ’ s share would automatically pass to the

10 the society of will writers