Normally, when people buy a property together, they purchase as Joint Tenants, meaning that they both own the whole of the property. When a Severance of Tenancy is setup they become Tenants in Common instead.
Becoming Tenants in Common means you each own a percentage of the property – usually 50% each but you can define the portions into unequal shares if you wish, for example, if you have put different amounts of money into the purchase of the property.
Realistically, you are doing this to protect yourself. If one of you has an affair or decides enough is enough and you want out, you ultimately will want to sell the property and if you have put in say 50k and your other half has put in 20k then its not fair and you will want your share out that you put in. It also makes sure that if you die and the property is still there, the other half doesn’t run off with all the assets and half the money can be given to family or children.
More often than not the application is done mutually by both parties, however this is not always the case and can be done by one party alone as long as the joint owner is notified. This is useful when divorce proceedings are considered and there is a need to avoid your share of the property transferring automatically to your spouse if you should die before the financial situation is resolved.
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