Severed joint tenancy?

royP_2

My Brother in law who suffers from Parkinson's has had to go into a care home since early January and the relationship with his partner has now broken down (they are not married).

He and his partner own their home and when they purchased the property @ £300.000 he invested £290,000 and she the balance, but in early March he received a letter from her solicitor as below:

Please find enclosed a letter whereby our client gives you notice that she has severed her joint tenancy in equity over your home. You need do nothing with this letter as this severance is a unilateral one and an application to the Land Registry will be made in support of this.

Yours sincerely

Please can someone explain to me what this means and should or can he do anything about it?

Apparently the property is now worth approx £450,000.

Thanks.

sammyjammy

It means they now own the property as tenants in common, with a joint tenancy they both owned 100% of the property and if one died the other would automatically become the sole owner.  If the joint tenancy has been severed I believe the default is 50/50.  When he paid for 90+% of the property did they put anything in place with a solicitor to protect that?

canaldumidi

He needs to see a soliitor ad find out how to get the Tenants In Common shares changed from 50/50 to 90/10 (or similar).

https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership

Olinda99

That would normally be done via a declaration of trust I believe, as the default is 50/50.

royP_2

Olinda99 said:

That would normally be done via a declaration of trust I believe, as the default is 50/50.

What is a Declaration of Trust?

Also I have learnt today that Brother in laws partner has recently died, does that change things?

TripleH

To clarify :

Your brother's ex partner has just passed away?

From the earlier information it appears he now owns 100% of the house.

I would check this all out with a solicitor to confirm as it appears your brother's ex has done him a kind gesture if correct.

I am sorry for your brother's loss (even if it was an ex partner).

RAS

See 

What can we do!!? — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Joint tenancy question! — MoneySavingExpert Forum

I think it's otherwise.

If the tenancy was severed, the BIL still has 50% of the value (assuming there has not been a deed of trust set up since), and the deceased partner's share goes to her beneficiaries as per her will, or via the rules of intestacy. 

So you need to find out:

1. Who is dealing with the ex-partner's estate? 

2. Can you persuade that person to let you remove your BIL's personal belongings from the house, if that has been a continuing problem.

3. Make sure all the information regarding his own accounts is secured if you've not been able to get them previously.

Obviously whilst expressing sincere condolences to the bereaved and trying not to say anything about the ex-partner's behaviour.

You need legal advice on handling the situation with the house. Have you by the way checked with the Land Registry if a restriction has been placed on the deeds?

canaldumidi

TripleH said:

To clarify :

Your brother's ex partner has just passed away?

From the earlier information it appears he now owns 100% of the house.

I would check this all out with a solicitor to confirm as it appears your brother's ex has done him a kind gesture if correct.

That would be the case if the property was owned as Joint Tenants. However, OP said:

Please find enclosed a letter whereby our client gives you notice that she has severed her joint tenancy in equity over your home.

So it would appear now to be owned as Tenants In Common. The ex partner's Estate now owns 50% which will be passed to whoever the ex partner named in her will, or if no will, according to the rules of intestacy.

But as TripleH says, you need a solicitor.

TripleH

Thanks for the clarification. Yes I misinterpreted it.

It does seem strange that one party can get something like this amended without the input of the other party.

I would register an alert on the land registry site in case the 'other beneficiary' tries to sell it.

Does your brother have power of attorney documents in place at all (might his late partner have got these sorted?)

martindow

Can one person really 'sever' a joint tenancy unilaterally without the other person's agreement?

Marmaduke123

martindow said:

Can one person really 'sever' a joint tenancy unilaterally without the other person's agreement?

Yes, I believe so. It's a unilateral action which doesn't require agreement or acknowledgement from the other party, just proof of delivery of the notice to their address.