Joint tenants v tenants in common: the detail that can undo a Will

Two people can own a property together in two legally different ways - and the difference decides what happens on death, regardless of what any Will says.

The two forms

As joint tenants, co-owners own the whole together: on the first death, the property passes automatically to the survivor by survivorship. The Will never touches it. As tenants in common, each owner holds a distinct share - and that share passes under the Will, which is what makes trust planning and blended-family provision possible.

Why it defeats Wills

A Will can only give away what the estate actually owns at death. A carefully drafted gift of "my share of the house" in a joint tenancy does nothing: there is no share - the survivor takes all. We see this constantly in reviews: trust provisions that cannot operate, gifts to children that silently fail, and co-owned properties (with siblings, partners, friends) heading to the co-owner rather than the family the Will intended.

The fix: a Deed of Severance

Converting a joint tenancy to a tenancy in common is done by a Deed of Severance - a short, standard step when the Will planning requires it. The key is that someone checks: the Land Registry position, not the owners' assumption, is what counts, and the two are frequently different.

Key takeaways

• Joint tenancy passes by survivorship; the Will does not control it
• Tenancy in common gives each owner a share their Will can direct
• A proper Will review checks the Land Registry, not just the document

Our STEP-qualified estate planners check property ownership as standard in every review - complimentary and without obligation.