Joint Owners: What Shall I Do?
Posted on 5th November 2018
When buying a property in joint names, your solicitors in Preston Lancashire will require confirmation as to how you wish to hold the property. This is for entry within the Transfer Deed (TR1), which effectively transfers the ownership of the property from the seller to the buyer. This Deed is submitted to the Land Registry for entry within the Register, it is, therefore, important that this is correct before signature and submission.
The property can be held as follows:
Joint Tenants: A joint tenancy incorporates the survivorship principle which means that, upon death, the property is automatically passed to the other. This is common within married couples as each does not hold an individual share in the property, but they collectively own the interest together.
Tenants in Common in Equal Shares: As opposed to a joint tenancy, tenants in common hold their own share in a property, and this can be in either equal or unequal shares. If the parties purchasing have children from previous relationships whom they wish to leave their share to, the parties may choose to hold the property equally, however, be able to leave their share in a Will to family members.
Tenants in Common in Unequal Shares: It is common, when one party is contributing more to the purchase price of the property than the other, that this is reflected in how the individuals hold the property. The individual who makes a larger contribution, may hold a bigger share in the property, however, this is at the discretion of the parties themselves.
When selecting to hold the property as tenants in common, as each individual holds their own share, the survivorship principle does not apply, however, the parties can leave their individual shares to other people in their Will, or the same will be passed on by intestacy rules if there is no Will.
At this stage, your property solicitors Preston would also recommend that you update your Will. At MG Legal, our local solicitors for Wills can offer Wills at £75.00 + VAT.
Once your Preston law firm has confirmation as to how you wish to hold the property, the Transfer Deed can be finalised. Your property solicitors Preston will send this to the seller’s solicitor for their approval and to obtain signature by the seller to confirm the transfer of ownership. Upon Completion, your Preston solicitors submit the Transfer Deed to the Land Registry to register the change in ownership.
It is important that the type of ownership can be established in the event that the property is sold. Your Preston solicitors will look to the Register to determine whether the seller has the authority to sell the property, and whether there is one or more registered proprietor.
For more information on co-ownership, or any other conveyancing query, contact our specialist team of property solicitors Preston for more information today at enquiries@mglegal.co.uk.
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