What Does Owning a Property as Joint Tenants Mean?

If you own the beneficial interest in a property as joint tenants, you own it together with the other owner or owners.

You do not each have a separate percentage share which you can leave to somebody else in your Will. Instead, you are jointly entitled to the whole beneficial interest.

The important point for Will planning is what happens when one joint tenant dies.

Their interest passes automatically to the surviving joint owner or owners. This is known as the right of survivorship.

That happens because of the way the property is owned, rather than because of anything written in the deceased person's Will.

So, if two people own their home as joint tenants and one dies, the surviving owner will normally become entitled to the whole beneficial interest in the property.

The person who died cannot simply leave a separate share of that jointly owned property to somebody else in their Will.

What Does Owning a Property as Tenants in Common Mean?

Tenants in common hold the beneficial interest differently.

Each owner has a separate share in the property.

Those shares might be equal, for example 50% each, but they do not have to be. Depending on the arrangements that have been made, one person could have a larger share than the other.

There is no automatic right of survivorship over a tenant in common's share.

Instead, when an owner dies, their share forms part of their estate.

If they have a Will, that share can pass according to the terms of the Will. If they do not have a Will, it will normally pass under the rules of intestacy.

This means that someone who owns a property as a tenant in common has a separate beneficial share which their Will can deal with.

What Is the Main Difference?

For Will planning, the distinction can be put quite simply.

That difference can have a significant effect on what happens to someone's interest in their home after their death.

Why Does This Matter When Making a Will?

It is easy to assume that putting an instruction into a Will is enough to decide what should happen to everything you own.

But a Will does not control every asset in the same way.

Some assets pass because of the way they are owned rather than because of the instructions contained in a Will.

A jointly owned home can be an important example.

If you own the beneficial interest in your home with somebody else as joint tenants, your interest will normally pass automatically to the surviving joint owner when you die.

Your Will cannot simply redirect that interest to somebody else while the joint tenancy remains in place.

If you own the property as tenants in common, the position is different. Your separate share forms part of your estate and can therefore be dealt with by your Will.

That is why the way a property is owned should be considered when preparing or reviewing a Will.

The question is not only:

What do you want your Will to say?

It is also:

Does the way you own your property allow that to happen?

A Simple Example

Imagine Alex and Jamie own their home together.

If they own the beneficial interest as joint tenants and Alex dies first, Alex's interest will normally pass automatically to Jamie.

Suppose Alex's Will says that the estate should be divided between several beneficiaries.

That Will can still deal with the assets which form part of Alex's estate, but it does not turn Alex's interest in the jointly owned home into a separate share which can be divided between those beneficiaries.

Jamie becomes entitled to the whole beneficial interest in the home through the joint tenancy.

Now imagine instead that Alex and Jamie own the beneficial interest as tenants in common, with each owning a 50% share.

If Alex dies, Alex's 50% share does not automatically become Jamie's.

Instead, Alex's share forms part of the estate and can pass according to Alex's Will.

The property is the same and the owners are the same.

What changes is the way in which the beneficial ownership is held — and that can produce a very different result when one of them dies.

Is One Type of Ownership Better Than the Other?

Not necessarily.

Joint tenants and tenants in common are different ways of owning the beneficial interest in a property, and either arrangement may be appropriate depending on what the owners want.

For some people, having the property pass automatically to the surviving owner is exactly what they intend.

For others, having a separate share which can be dealt with through their Will may better reflect their wishes.

The important question is therefore not whether one type of ownership is generally better.

It is whether the way the property is owned matches what you want to happen.

Your Property Ownership and Your Will Should Work Together

A Will is one part of your wider arrangements.

If you own a property jointly, understanding whether the beneficial interest is held as joint tenants or tenants in common helps establish what your Will can — and cannot — control.

That does not mean everyone making a Will needs to change the way their property is owned.

It simply means that the two should be considered together.

The starting point is to understand how your property is owned, consider what you would want to happen to your interest in it, and make sure that your property arrangements and your Will work together.