Establishing ownership of property as part of an estate when someone dies
It is a fact of life that relationships break down and that new relationships commence. In an age of material wealth, relationships often involve the sharing and dividing of assets such as property, particularly the matrimonial home.
When someone makes a will and later dies, determining if probate will be required and then administering and distributing the estate between the deceased's chosen beneficiaries may be a difficult enough process. But further complexities can arise where the deceased remarried or entered into a new relationship after a previous relationship ended. These complications may include life-time agreements regarding property which had been previously reached.
Complications with owning property
Couples often buy property together as co-owners, either as tenants in common or as joint owners. If they own it as 'joint tenants', when one of them dies the survivor will automatically inherit the whole of it. And if they split up the property is divided equally between them.
If they own it as 'tenants in common' each co-owner owns a specific share in the property. This might be equal or unequal portions depending on how much cash they have contributed towards the deposit, mortgage repayments and so on. In this case when one of them dies, only his or her respective proportion will pass into the estate to be distributed. The survivor holds onto his or her respective share but does not automatically inherit the deceased's share unless specified under the terms of a Will.
But if the relationship ends, the property might be sold with the sale proceeds split between the owners according to their respective portions. Sometimes, one will simply buy the other out.
However it is becoming increasingly common for a formal agreement to be reached by the co-owners regarding their property after their relationship has broken down. It may be agreed that one party is to live in the property for a certain period; or one party is to buy the other out 'when money becomes available'.
Agreements such as these can cause major legal problems when a co-owner of the property later dies and it not clear-cut who owns what and who is entitled to what proportion of the equity in home. Sometimes, the intended result financially is not what will happen according to the law if it becomes a contested issue.
If you are an executor of an estate under these circumstances then you should seek professional advice from legal experts. This can save a substantial amount of time and money for the estate and will make the administration of the estate much more straightforward.
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