It is very common for properties to be held ‘jointly’ where there is more than one owner. There are two ways in which jointly owned property can be held – as Joint Tenants or as Tenants in Common.
If a property is owned as Joint Tenants, when one owner dies, their interest in the property automatically passes to the other joint owner.
If a property is owned as Tenants in Common, when of the owners dies, their interest in the property passes as per the terms of their Will, if they have one or under the laws of intestacy.
There are circumstances where holding property as Joint Tenants becomes no longer desirable and an owner may instead wish for their interest in the property to go elsewhere – perhaps to their children. If instances such as this, a Joint Tenancy can be changed to a Tenancy in Common - this is known as severing the Joint Tenancy.