Making a Will After Buying a House

For many buyers, particularly first-time buyers, a house is the single largest asset they own, often bought with a mortgage that will take years to pay off and, for couples, frequently bought together before or instead of marriage. It is a sensible moment to make a will, both to say who should inherit the property and to think through how any outstanding mortgage should be dealt with.

If you already have a will, a house purchase is a good moment to check that it still reflects your wishes, particularly if the property is jointly owned with a partner, since the way you hold the property interacts directly with what your will can and cannot control.

When two or more people buy a property together, they hold it either as joint tenants or as tenants in common, and this choice has a major effect on inheritance. As joint tenants, the co-owners have no separate individual shares; instead, on the death of one owner, the property automatically passes to the surviving owner or owners by the right of survivorship, regardless of what that person's will says.

As tenants in common, each owner holds a distinct, defined share of the property, commonly but not always equal, which does not pass automatically to the other owner. Instead, that share forms part of the deceased owner's estate and passes according to their will, or the intestacy rules if they have none. Couples who want the option to leave their share of the home to someone other than their co-owner, such as children from an earlier relationship, generally need to hold as tenants in common.

Many buyers are not entirely sure which arrangement applies to them, particularly if it was decided quickly during conveyancing some years earlier. You can check this by looking at the title register held at the Land Registry, which will show a restriction on the title if the property is held as tenants in common.

If you are unsure and this matters to your will planning, for example because you want to leave your share of the home to someone other than your co-owner, get this confirmed before or alongside making your will, since the ownership structure will determine whether your will can achieve what you want.

Where co-owners have contributed unequal amounts towards a property, for example one partner putting in a larger deposit, a declaration of trust can record the agreed shares and terms clearly, reducing the risk of dispute later and working alongside a tenants in common arrangement.

In blended family situations, a life interest trust set out in a will can allow a surviving partner to continue living in the home for their lifetime, or until a specific event such as remarriage, while ultimately preserving the capital value of the property for children from an earlier relationship. This kind of structure needs careful drafting and is usually best done with a solicitor.

Think about how any outstanding mortgage should be handled, for example whether it should be paid off from the estate or whether the property should pass subject to the mortgage, and check whether you have adequate life insurance or mortgage protection insurance to support this. Update beneficiary details on any related policies at the same time as your will.

If you own property abroad as well as in England and Wales, take advice, since foreign property is often governed by different local succession rules and may need a separate will in that jurisdiction.