Make your share of the home yours to leave.
Most couples own their home as joint tenants. That means when one of you dies, the whole house passes automatically to the other, whatever your Will says. Severance changes that, so you each own a defined share you can leave to whoever you choose.
Joint tenants or tenants in common?
Joint tenants. You own the whole property together. The survivor takes everything automatically, and your Will has no say in it.
Tenants in common. You each own a share, usually half each. Your share passes under your Will, or into a trust if that's what you've set up.
Why people do it
- To leave their share to children from an earlier relationship
- To put their share into a Property Protection Trust
- To record unequal contributions to the purchase honestly
- To stop the whole house passing somewhere they never intended
What we do, and what it costs
We prepare the notice of severance, take care of the Land Registry restriction so the change is properly recorded, and make sure it lines up with your Wills. The fee is £30, agreed before we start. A Land Registry search fee may apply, which is added on at cost.
You don't need your partner's agreement to sever, though we always encourage couples to make the decision together, and it usually takes a few weeks from start to finish.