What happens to jointly owned property when someone dies in the UK?
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In short: It depends on the form of co-ownership. Joint tenants pass by survivorship — the survivor automatically owns the whole, outside the will. Tenants in common own defined shares that pass under the will or intestacy.
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Check the title register at HM Land Registry (£3 online). If it shows a 'Form A restriction', you are tenants in common. If it doesn't, you are joint tenants by default.
Joint tenancy can be 'severed' unilaterally by serving written notice on the other owner under s36(2) Law of Property Act 1925, then registering a Form A restriction with the Land Registry. This is common where parents want their share to go to children from a previous relationship.
Joint mortgage liability is not affected by severance — each owner remains liable to the lender for the whole debt, even if their beneficial share is only 50%.
Primary source: gov.uk/government/publications/joint-property-ownership
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