When buying a property, simply owning it isn’t enough. HOW this property will be owned can have wide-reaching impacts on your personal & financial wellbeing. In particular, when two or more people own a property, they can hold the land either as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.

Joint Tenants

This is the most common ownership type between couples. An equal share of the property split between owners. On death of an owner, the survivor will become the sole owner of the land. They need only to register the person’s death at the Lands Titles Office. There is no separation of the interest held between joint tenants.

From an estate planning perspective, this should generally bypass any other estate planning matters.

Tenants in Common

Each owner holds a specified share.

Imagine this scenario of parents co-purchasing with their child

Owner A & B (parents) may each own 30 percent of the property.

Owner C owns the remaining 40 percent.

On the death of an owner, that person’s executor must apply to the Supreme Court for Probate of the Will. When Probate is granted, the deceased person’s share is transmitted to the executor who then transfers it to that person’s beneficiaries as set out in his or her Will.

If Owner C passes away, there would need to be specific instructions as to who (and what percentage) receives some/all of their 40% share.

Tenants in Common, can be considered if (for example):

You wish to leave your interest to someone other than the other owner(s) (such as where friends are purchasing land together); or
You wish to hold unequal shares in land (such as where the contribution of capital by each purchaser is not equal).

If you have any questions about your situation, contact me via leah@stevensconveyancing.com.au or call 0414 894 031 to discuss.

Please note that the information contained in this article is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. Stevens Conveyancing does not take responsibility for any errors or omissions obtained from the use of this information.