Partners will usually hold their property jointly, this is known as ‘Joint Tenants’. If you hold your property as Joint tenants, should one partner die, that share is passed automatically to the surviving partner and will not pass through the Will. This is known as passing by ‘Survivorship’.
Alternatively, you may hold your property in specific shares – as ‘Tenants In Common’. This means that your share in that property will pass in accordance with your Will as it will form part of your estate. This enables you to make a gift in the Will to specify who is to take your share in the property, unlike a Joint Tenancy.
It is easy to convert a Joint Tenancy into Tenants In Common if you wish to make a gift of your share of the property. This can be done by a ‘Notice of Severance’, which is then registered with the Land Registry.