House ownership in Scotland

jenny2009

I often see the terms tenant in common and joint tenancy when browsing newsgroups and forums but as far as I am aware this does not apply in Scotland.

When hubby and I bought this house these terms were never mentioned, the mortgage is in our joint names, we have a joint account that the mortgage is paid into every month, well for a few months, then it is finished, and as far as I am aware if one of us dies the other automatically owns the house, no probate or anything like that .

Or am I understanding this incorrectly.

When we bought this house I just signed the forms that were put in front of me as we were told a married couple buy a house jointly in Scotland. I was not even working at the time.

So how is a house in Scotland owned by a couple?

Jenny

theartfullodger

What do both your wills say about the property?? Can't see why, if one party died & left their share of the house to e.g. " the Glasgow distressed alcoholics association" why that would not be valid.. And whilst you may know what the other 1/2's will says now there is nothing to stop them changing it this evening. My dad ran a trustee dept. (wills etc) for Barclays Bank in the 50's & 60's and said it was surprising how often a young lady no member of the family had heard of was mentioned in a will of an elderly gentleman. (No offence intended & I'm sure you are both paragons of virtue with the loyalty of saints...)

Have a look here...
http://www.scottishlaw.org.uk/lawscotland/convey.html

&
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/12/05115128/51285

The law in Scotland is of course different in lots of ways .. eg he right of a spouse/common-law-wife/civil-partner to force their way back into a house after the other one (who owns/rents the place) has chucked them out & changed the locks...

What did your Scottish Solicitor say about the matter?

Cheers!

Lodger

Gwhiz

T in C means the portion of house the deceased owns passes under the terms of the will.

JT means the other half automatically goes to the other half.

In England it's a useful distinction for Inheritance Tax planning purposes.

Louba

Jenny - you need to check your title deeds - your solicitor should have provided you with a copy and can send you a further copy on request. Some will contain a survivorship clause which means that your property will automatically go to the other joint owner on your death without need for a will or any further action. I'm not sure what happens if the survivorship clause conflicts with your will but I suspect that one or other of the potential beneficiaries would ahve to contest it through the courts. When you bought your solicitor should have asked you if you wanted this clause to be included or if you already had it covered in your will.

If you don't have a survivorship clause the property will go where the will says - even if that means it doesn't go to you. In addition you will need to take steps to transfer your partner's portion of the house to you if he dies and the will syas it should go to you. Here's some more info http://www.which.co.uk/advice/moving-home-in-scotland/buying-and-selling-in-scotland/index.jsp

jenny2009

We have not made any wills.


In Scotland if I die without a will the house goes to hubby, if he dies the house comes to me. Along with everything else.

The children get nothing as we do not have a lot of moveable estate it is less than the following.

The widow or widower gets:
any dwelling house owned by the deceased where the surviving spouse or registered civil partner was ordinarily resident at the date of death, up to a value of £300,000 plus
furniture etc up to a value of £24,000.
If the remainder of the estate does not exceed £75,000, the whole goes to the widow, widower or registered civil partner.

After we are both dead the children get everything divided equally between them. If one wants to live in the house he pays the other half the value of the house, if none want to live in the house they sell it and divide the money.

I or hubby won't be there so not bothered.

Why do we need wills? The rules of intestate in Scotland are exactly how we would write our wills if we wrote them

http://www.directlife.co.uk/Editorial/Legal-Principles-Dying-Without-Will-Scotland.asp

So how is a house in Scotland owned by a couple?

I was just wondering what the terminology was for us owning our house?

Buying a house in Scotland is so different from buying a house in England, so are the rules on dying without a will.

Jenny

Louba

Jenny - the terminology is just joint ownership. I think the difference is that it's not guaranteed to go to the other party on death unless there is a survivorship clause or the will or the rules of intestacy say so. Similarly the other person can technically sell their half at any point. You don't need to have a will but generally it makes it easier for the person who is left as in it you will name your executor(s) - this makes it clear who is to make arrangements and should make it easier to get things like forms of probate which you need to transfer certain property. I've never got round to doing one but having been thinking about it mainly because I'm in a long term relationship but unmarried so it wouldn't be obvious where things should go.

jenny2009

If we were not married it would be a different story, but as we are, without a will the survivor gets the house.

Jenny

Nosht

Whilst on the subject of wills, just make sure that the person who writes the will is a member of the Will Society (or some such similar name) which is the optimum qualification. Not many lawyers have the expert training needed for this task.

Regards,

N.