Joint Tenants and Wills

Joint tenants own the whole property together rather than owning separate shares. Because there is no individual share to speak of during the joint tenancy, there is nothing for a will to give away. When one joint tenant dies, the right of survivorship simply removes them from the ownership, leaving the surviving owner or owners holding the whole property. This happens automatically under property law and takes effect regardless of the wording of the deceased's will.

This means that even if a will states clearly that 'my share of 123 Example Street is left to my daughter', that instruction has no legal effect if the property is held as joint tenants, because there is no separate share for the daughter to receive. The property still passes to the surviving joint owner.

For many couples this is exactly the outcome they want: a guarantee that the survivor keeps the family home without complication, regardless of what either will says about the property specifically. It is one of the reasons joint tenancy is common between spouses and long-term partners buying a home together.

It only becomes a problem when someone assumes their will can redirect their interest elsewhere, for example to children from a previous relationship, without realising that the joint tenancy will simply override that wish.

Your will becomes relevant to the property again once you become its sole owner, for example after your co-owner has already died and survivorship has taken effect, leaving you as sole owner. At that point the property forms part of your estate in the ordinary way and can be dealt with by your will exactly like any other asset.

This is why it is still worth naming the property in your will and thinking about who should ultimately inherit it, even while you remain a joint tenant, so that your wishes are recorded and ready to apply once the joint tenancy has ended through survivorship.

If you want your will to be able to leave your interest in the property to someone other than your co-owner, for example to provide for children from an earlier relationship while allowing a partner to continue living in the home, you need to sever the joint tenancy and convert it into a tenancy in common. This is typically done by serving a written notice of severance on the other owner.

Once severed, you hold a defined share which then passes under your will rather than automatically to the other owner. It is sensible to register a Form A restriction at HM Land Registry once severance has taken place, and to update your will at the same time to reflect who should receive your share.

Whether you remain a joint tenant or decide to sever the tenancy, it helps to have a will that is drafted with the correct ownership position in mind, so that it does what you actually intend and does not contain instructions that have no legal effect. My Posh Will is an online guided will service for England and Wales that takes you through these decisions clearly.

A single will costs £69 and mirror wills for couples cost £89, both one-off payments with lifetime access. Most people complete their will in around ten minutes, and the service includes clear instructions on signing and witnessing to make sure the will is valid.