Unmarried First-Time Buyers - Legal Protection?

LDickens

Me and my partner are in the process of buying a house together, and are unmarried. We are looking to purchase the house under a 50/50 split joint ownership.

We have been advised that as a unmarried couple living together, there are no automatic rights to inherit any part of one another's property on death, unless a will is made to give effect to this.

We were then also advised about a 'Trust Deed' and/or a 'Living Together Arrangement' - and it all got a bit confusing.

My partner and I do not have plans to get married anytime soon, but we want to ensure that we are legally secure if the worst was ever to happen.

Would a Will and a Life Insurance policy be enough? Or do we need to look into a Trust Deed/Living Together Arrangement? Realistically, we don't want to spend another small fortune on legal fees!

Nearlyold

If you own the property as "Joint Tenants" then on the death of one of you the survivor automatically takes over ownership of the whole property (but of course remains liable for all of the mortgage still outstanding)

If you own the property as "Tenants in Common" then on the death of one of you, the deceased's half share of the property passes into their estate to be passed onto their heirs as dictated by the will or the intestacy rules (less the deceased's share of the mortgage).


Wills, Life Insurance policy(s) and a decision on which way is most appropriate to own the property would be a godsend if the worst were to happen - and should not cost a small fortune.