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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Do you own your house as tenants in common or joint tenants?

95 replies

PaddingtonStareBare · 07/11/2020 23:42

Curious really, as we've just served the joint tenancy on ours and had it changed to tenants in common.
We were having our wills done and we both wanted to be sure that our dc would inherit our 'half' should one of pass away, their inheritance then goes into trust until the surviving spouse passes away or downsizes. It was all done by the solicitors.

Is this a common thing to do? I just read so many stories about one parent passing away, then surviving parent remarries or changes the will so a new partner benefits leaving the DC with nothing :(

OP posts:
miimblemomble · 08/11/2020 05:39

In Scotland it’s slightly different. You need to remove any survivorship clause from the deeds, and change your wills to reflect that.

PIL just did it as MIL has gone into care and they didn’t want either of them to end up over the self-funding threshold if the other died and their property is really their only asset.

Fifthtimelucky · 08/11/2020 07:17

Interesting. This is on radar too and we discussed it with a solicitor last week. When we bought our first house nearly 30 years ago we did it as joint tenants which made sense at the time.

I don't suppose for a minute that my husband would disinherit our children if he remarried after my death, but one does read of such cases. Equally, if he died first, there would be a risk that I could disinherit his child from his first marriage (though obviously I wouldn't).

It makes sense for each of us to protect the interests of our children. It also makes sense to protect the house from loss by future care home fees as far as possible.

LemonadePockets · 08/11/2020 07:19

tenants in common is the best way to prevent sideways disinheritance.

Also if you’re worried about a house sale being forced to pay care fees you could look into a Family Protection Trust.

pincertoe · 08/11/2020 07:22

@MiniMum97 oh absolutely, a lot of it will be about what a future spouse might do as well. My point is, I wouldn't just trust a future spouse who promised to stick to what we agreed while I was alive. In fact I don't ever see myself remarrying for that reason as I would want to protect what I see as my children's future and not accidentally give it to someone who hasn't worked for it.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 08/11/2020 07:23

Joint tenants. Millions of children won't inherit anything from their parents. Mine are luckier than most to have been raised in an affluent home. I know DH isnt so stupid as to leave nothing to them in the event of a subsequent partnership.

CaptainMyCaptain · 08/11/2020 07:23

Tenants in common. I had an adult dc when we married and wanted to protect her inheritance. He has no children but, in his will, left his to his brother and my grandchildren anyway.

JamSarnie · 08/11/2020 07:26

Joint tenants and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This is 'our' house and it will go to my DH or I when one of us dies. We haven't slogged away to own it outright for it to be left to anyone else. The surviving spouse can then do what they want with it even if they want to sell it and travel around the world.

FippertyGibbett · 08/11/2020 07:30

We are the one where we both own a half of the house. Therefore if one of us dies and the other remarries the new spouse cannot inherit the whole house.
Obvious really.

harridan50 · 08/11/2020 07:31

Tenants in common to protect some assets from potential care home fees and ensure some inheritance

Powerbunting · 08/11/2020 07:32

Joint tenants. We share our children, none from previous relationships and I trust my OH to do what is best for dc in the future with remarriage and future wills if I die

OneRingToRuleThemAll · 08/11/2020 07:38

I'm the sole owner of my home with DH having a lifetime interest. I have children, and bought it before we were together. The children have to be protected. There are too many stories about re marriage and sidelined children being disinherited.

RainingBatsAndFrogs · 08/11/2020 07:42

Not yet but it is what I want to do. I've not discussed with DH and I am not sure he will agree. We have spoken about my worry of him remarrying and my children missing out on my money but he tells me not to be silly and of course he would protect them

You make your own will, so make it as you wish.

TiC makes sense so that the share of house owned by the deceased spouse is not also swallowed up by care fees.

Contracts and wills are fir when best intentions go astray, which can so easily happen. Will update forgotten, in thrall to new, inevitably younger wife who outlives him...

Every single person I know whose father re-married left his money to his second wife in the understanding that her will would recognise his first children. Not one of these friends had inherited a penny.

Calmandmeasured1 · 08/11/2020 07:42

Joint tenants.

FippertyGibbett · 08/11/2020 07:50

@Powerbunting

Joint tenants. We share our children, none from previous relationships and I trust my OH to do what is best for dc in the future with remarriage and future wills if I die
My dad trusted his second wife to do the right thing. She didn’t.
WiseUpJanetWeiss · 08/11/2020 07:51

Tenants in common, each with a life interest in the property. We have one child each from previous marriages and this is the best way to ensure that they are both treated fairly with minimal hassle.

Vanessashanessajenkins2 · 08/11/2020 07:54

We are both solicitors/married and recently bought our house. We opted for tenants in common. He has a child from a past relationship and we have a shared child. I have no other children apart from the one I have with him and don't want anymore. I felt very strongly about my 50% going to my child and his 50% being split how he likes (most likely between the two children). We pay into the mortgage 50-50. I saved most of the deposit money myself though that doesn't matter in the greater scheme of things. He was advocating for a joint tenancy but I really put my foot down. He understood in the end.

Fizzysours · 08/11/2020 07:55

We have just done the exact same...made a will and severed the tenancy.

Mummyoflittledragon · 08/11/2020 07:57

Joint tenants. If I die first, dh is supposed to immediately give a rental house to our dd. Am a bit nervous, he may forget...

Sherwil16 · 08/11/2020 07:57

When my partner and I got the mortgage on our house, we didn’t realise we were tenants in common ( no knowledge that there were possibilities to be to be anything different). It was only when he died 30 years later that I was so relieved that we had made wills leaving everything to each other in the first instance (having been advised by the solicitor that this was standard), rather than the long list of nieces and nephews who were the original immediate recipients. The drawback with tenants in common is that the house is looked at as 2 separate halves, with no automatic inheritance for the surviving partner. Having the advice of a good solicitor is crucial, as I discovered.

Bmidreams · 08/11/2020 08:03

Joint tenants on our main home. No way are our children entitled to half of our money whilst one of us is still alive. It's our money. I trust my dh to do the right thing by dc and give them what they need. I'm not going to die and strip dh of half his wealth. It's all his.

TestingTestingWonTooFree · 08/11/2020 08:04

We are married. When we had DD 10 years ago we severed the joint tenancy to become tenants in common. We have wills giving the survivor a life interest.

I’ve seen too many times the 2nd/3rd wife getting everything in the expectation she will pass it on to her step children. I wouldn’t want to leave it to chance.

everyonebutme · 08/11/2020 08:06

Does anyone have a different split in the house to 50/50. My other half and I have a 80/20 split and both of us have children from previous relationships (we are not married). I want to ensure that my children get my share of the house if I die first.

Thepilotlightsgoneout · 08/11/2020 08:06

Tenants in common. It protects my contribution to the family money for the children.

Gatehouse77 · 08/11/2020 08:12

@Bmidreams

Joint tenants on our main home. No way are our children entitled to half of our money whilst one of us is still alive. It's our money. I trust my dh to do the right thing by dc and give them what they need. I'm not going to die and strip dh of half his wealth. It's all his.
I think you’ve misunderstood. The children don’t get anything upon the death of the first parent (if it’s set up correctly) but it ‘protects’ half of it for the future. I don’t anticipate there being any issues when either of us die but we decided to put it in place because who knows what the future holds 🤷‍♀️
Cwenthryth · 08/11/2020 08:17

TIC in slightly unequal shares as one contributed more to the deposit, we’ve left our ‘halves’ to each other in our wills anyway (unmarried, no kids) but the TIC shares were specified so if we split we get back the same as we put in, +50% of the rest (mortgage is 50/50). We have a cohab agreement too stating what we can/can’t do, eg can’t have visitors to stay without the others permission, liable for 50% mortgage/bills even if we leave the property in event of a split etc, just to protect each other in case.