{"id":2818,"date":"2019-02-22T15:43:33","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T15:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/?p=2818"},"modified":"2020-05-12T13:55:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T13:55:00","slug":"shall-i-buy-a-house-with-my-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/02\/22\/shall-i-buy-a-house-with-my-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"Shall I buy a house with my partner?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner.jpg\"><br \/>\n<\/a><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img data-attachment-id=\"2871\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/02\/22\/shall-i-buy-a-house-with-my-partner\/shall-i-buy-a-house-with-my-partner-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"982,736\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Shall I buy a house with my partner?\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner.jpg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2871\" src=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner.jpg\" alt=\"Shall I buy a house with my partner?\" width=\"982\" height=\"736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner.jpg 982w, https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Shall-I-buy-a-house-with-my-partner-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 982px) 100vw, 982px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Shall I buy a house with my partner?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You face\u00a0a big decision. There are many factors to consider but don&#8217;t forget to think about\u00a0<em>how\u00a0<\/em>the two of you will own\u00a0it\u00a0because this\u00a0can have <em>very\u00a0<\/em>serious implications for couples who aren&#8217;t married or in civil partnerships.\u00a0Did you know there&#8217;s a choice between:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joint tenants\u00a0and<\/li>\n<li>Tenants in common?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0Joint tenants\/tenants in common &#8211; what&#8217;s the difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>I will explain in simple terms but if you are at all puzzled please get in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\">touch<\/a><\/em>. And when it comes to the paperwork for buying the house, make sure your conveyancer goes over the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common and gives you <strong><em>lots<\/em><\/strong> of time to think about it\u00a0<em><strong>before<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>you sign. Wrong decisions have consequences.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0&#8220;Joint tenants&#8221; explained &#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>When I\u00a0tell clients about being joint tenants I usually draw a picture of a house, let&#8217;s say in blue, and then draw exactly the same picture of the house over the top of it, let&#8217;s say in red.<\/p>\n<p>Then I say to one of them, you own the blue house, and I say to the other, you own the\u00a0red house. The point being, you <em>both<\/em> own the <em>whole<\/em> thing.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0Joint tenants &#8211;\u00a0so what if one of us\u00a0dies, or\u00a0we split up?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If\u00a0one of you dies, the other automatically inherits. And if you split up,\u00a0it&#8217;s equal shares.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0But I&#8217;m putting more\u00a0in, I want a bigger share!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Owning as joint tenants might not be right for you if you put in more\u00a0money at the start, or will be paying all the mortgage. Tenants in common may be the answer.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0&#8220;Tenants in common&#8221; explained &#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Remember the little house I drew to explain\u00a0joint tenants? Well in the case of tenants in common\u00a0imagine a house, one\u00a0side drawn in blue, the other\u00a0side\u00a0in red. One of you owns the blue side, the other owns the red side.\u00a0A <em><strong>declaration of trust<\/strong> <\/em>can\u00a0set out the shares you own it in and what happens if you split up. See more about declarations of trust below.<\/p>\n<h3>\u00a0<strong>Tenants in common &#8211; what happens if\u00a0one of us dies?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If one of you dies,\u00a0their share goes under the terms of\u00a0their will. This doesn&#8217;t suit everyone because you can&#8217;t guarantee who your partner\u00a0is going to leave their share to. A <strong><em>c<\/em><em>ohabitation agreement<\/em><\/strong> might help (see more below). But owning as tenants in common, and having a declaration of trust, protects the money you invested in the property if you split up.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0Tenants in common\u00a0&#8211; what happens if\u00a0we split up?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You can own the property in equal or unequal shares, depending on how you contributed to the purchase. Your\u00a0declaration of trust will set this out. So if you split up you will know what you are entitled to.<\/p>\n<p>Is there anything else you need to do? Well, yes, there is. You need to make a will.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0Make a will &#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Why do you need to make a will? Because if you own the property as tenants in common and one of you dies, the survivor doesn&#8217;t automatically inherit the house. See my recent blog\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2018\/10\/16\/do-i-need-a-will\/\" target=\"_blank\">Do I need a will, here&#8217;s one very good reason<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Anything else? Well, yes, a cohabitation agreement might be a good idea.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0Get a cohabitation agreement &#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>See my blogs\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/12\/06\/cohabitation-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">6 reasons why you need a cohabitation agreement\u00a0<\/a><\/em> and\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/12\/13\/common-law-property-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\">6 things you must include in a cohabitation agreement<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0&#8220;Declaration of trust&#8221; explained &#8230;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is a document which sets out your respective interests in the property and what happens if you split up.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u00a0Shall I buy a house with my partner?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Contact\u00a0Family Lawyer Joanne Houston on 01962 217640 for an initial\u00a0<strong>free<\/strong>\u00a0of charge consultation on the question<em> Shall I buy a house with my partner?\u00a0<\/em>In this 20 minute session she will review your situation and how you can achieve your objectives.<\/p>\n<p><em>JUST FAMILY LAW are specialist divorce and family lawyers. We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/06\/02\/pay-as-you-go-divorce-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pay as you go costs<\/a>. We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/01\/17\/what-is-collaborative-family-law\/\" target=\"_blank\">Collaborative law<\/a>\u00a0solutions tailored to your family\u2019s needs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The topics covered in this blog post S<em>hall I buy a house with my partner?<\/em>\u00a0are complex. They are provided for general guidance only. If any of the circumstances mentioned in this blog apply to you, seek expert legal advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>image for\u00a0<em>Shall I buy a house with my partner?\u00a0<\/em><span class=\"language nb\" title=\"\">Norsk bokm\u00e5l:<\/span>\u00a0yellow house child drawing\u00a0by Oyvind Holmstad on<em>\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Wc_yellow_house_child_drawing.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shall I buy a house with my partner? You face\u00a0a big decision. There are many factors to consider but don&#8217;t forget to think about\u00a0how\u00a0the two of you will own\u00a0it\u00a0because this\u00a0can have very\u00a0serious implications for couples who aren&#8217;t married or in civil partnerships.\u00a0Did you know there&#8217;s a choice between: Joint tenants\u00a0and Tenants in common? \u00a0Joint tenants\/tenants [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[332],"tags":[156,10,487,486,489,382,488,491,490],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2818"}],"version-history":[{"count":72,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3069,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2818\/revisions\/3069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}