Joint tenants or Tenant in Common?

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

We are just signing the paperwork for our new house - we were Joint Tenants of the house we just sold, but I'm sure I've read threads here recently that said there are tax benefits to being Tenants in Common.

Any experts around who can advise?

I'm interested in this too

Let's hope someone who knows comes along!

In a joint tenancy you both own the house equally, and if one of you dies then that person's share passes across to the survivor who then has complete ownership.

If you hold the house as tenants-in-common, you each own a designated share (commonly 50/50 but can be tailored to suit, e.g. if one party put in more deposit than the other). When the first person dies, their share does not automatically pass to the other, it will pass according to the deceased's Will or intestacy rules if no Will. The advantages of this include flexibility in estate planning/reducing potential liability to inheritance tax. Also some protection in case of bankruptcy.

In many cases, especially if you are relatively young and in good health and don't have assets between you in excess of £650k then it doesn't make much difference really whether you choose to be joint tenants or tenants-in-common. It depends on your own personal circumstances.