Changing to Joint Tenants

Skyskooter

I discovered this forum and thread when I searched for help following rejection by H M Land Registry of my application to change from a tenancy in common to a joint tenancy in respect of the house I and my wife jointly own.

I started by reading the original post which precisely mirrored my own case. I expected to find the solution but nowhere is there a link to the Deed of Trust which the Land Registry require. It seems to me absurd that you need to file three documents, the application, statement of truth and a new trust deed, just because you have changed your mind about how you want to hold joint property.

Yes, I can leave my half share in our jointly owned home to my wife (and I have) but I am just trying to simplify things for her so she does not have to take out probate of my will to get it. A joint tenancy will enable survivorship to apply so that all she has to do is produce my death certificate to the land registry. SIMPLE!

Is there no one who has succeeded in converting a tenancy in common to a joint tenancy? If there is can you please enlighten us all by making a link to the magic deed of trust.

judy7007

http://www.thelegalstop.co.uk/faqs.html
I bought a template from here to make a deed of trust. Their ‘contact us’ will tell you which one to buy. I did eventually have success in transferring from tenants in common to joint tenants. There was one more ‘blip’ with my RX3 but sorted that out. What a performance - but finally done.

Skyskooter

Well done Judy. As you say, what a performance. As for me I now have my Declaration of Trust done and if it satisfies the Land Registry I will declare victory on this site.

getmore4less

Skyskooter wrote: »

I discovered this forum and thread when I searched for help following rejection by H M Land Registry of my application to change from a tenancy in common to a joint tenancy in respect of the house I and my wife jointly own.

I started by reading the original post which precisely mirrored my own case. I expected to find the solution but nowhere is there a link to the Deed of Trust which the Land Registry require. It seems to me absurd that you need to file three documents, the application, statement of truth and a new trust deed, just because you have changed your mind about how you want to hold joint property.

Yes, I can leave my half share in our jointly owned home to my wife (and I have) but I am just trying to simplify things for her so she does not have to take out probate of my will to get it. A joint tenancy will enable survivorship to apply so that all she has to do is produce my death certificate to the land registry. SIMPLE!

Is there no one who has succeeded in converting a tenancy in common to a joint tenancy? If there is can you please enlighten us all by making a link to the magic deed of trust.

You don't need probate for TIC a death certificate is enough to remove the deceased, survivor can deal with the legal title and beneficial interests.

Land reg have confirmed that numerous times.

Skyskooter

Sorry, you are wrong. Yes you can register the death certificate of the deceased joint proprietor but you cannot sell his share where there was a tenancy in common. There is a Restriction on the register that no disposition by a sole proprietor of the estate is to be registered without a court order. Probate is a court order.

Land_Registry

Skyshooter a few things to note here although I'm sure getmore4less will also reply

If a property is registered with a form A restriction and a joint owner dies then the surviving owner can sell and does not need probate. Probate is not a court order.

You are right you can't sell a share but that share is in the beneficial ownership. Any transfer if the legal ownership must be of its whole

The surviving owner can do two things. If you leave your share in the beneficial ownership to her then she can apply to have the form A restriction cancelled thus enabling her to sell - see PG 6 section 7
Or in other circumstances she can appoint someone to act with her as a trustee for your beneficial share and together they then sell.

The key thing is that the form A can protect a TIC situation but we don't refer to TIC on the register and the TIC deals with the beneficial ownership/shares. We register the legal ownership so your wills, any trust or shares are separate matters, hence in some ways the complexities of dealing with the legal and beneficial ownerships when there is this crossover.

So, whilst it may make things easier to apply to cancel the form A restriction the above may change your mind. Form A restrictions are often applied for in a wide variety of situations but are invariably linked to TIC.
Once the situation they are protecting has passed, for example where one dies and their share in the beneficial ownership is passed on, they can be cancelled or dealt with as explained. There's no need to cancel it ahead of a death as a result but entirely your choice of course

getmore4less

Skyskooter wrote: »

Sorry, you are wrong. Yes you can register the death certificate of the deceased joint proprietor but you cannot sell his share where there was a tenancy in common. There is a Restriction on the register that no disposition by a sole proprietor of the estate is to be registered without a court order. Probate is a court order.

In simple terms the sole proprietor cannot sell on their own.

But they can appoint anyone to be the other acting person.

The implications are obvious.

judy7007

‘The surviving owner can do two things. If you leave your share in the beneficial ownership to her then she can apply to have the form A restriction cancelled thus enabling her to sell - see PG 6 section 7
Or in other circumstances she can appoint someone to act with her as a trustee for your beneficial share and together they then sell.’

In the end this is the reason we wanted the form A restriction lifted now. We are elderly and it seemed an added hassle to leave to the survivor. (I was set right on the matter of probate thanks to this forum).

Skyskooter

Thank you Land Registry and getmore4less for your helpful replies. I think we can say we are agreed. What a fascinating subject.