Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

My only concern as regards amendment No. 19, as it stands, is about the fact that I believe the majority of people who opt to buy property in co-ownership intend that there will be joint tenancy. The effect could be that people might presume they were going to inherit a property when a partner in the property dies. It means that surviving spouses, for example, might be left in a vulnerable position because they might not be aware of the ramifications and suddenly find that it was not a joint tenancy, despite their having previously thought it was. It is a matter of changing from one common predominator to another.

In general up to this, when people have bought property they intended it to be in joint tenancy. The advantage of having a joint tenancy is that the other half of the property does not go into the estate of a person on his or her death. It is automatically transferred to the surviving partner. If it went into the estate, there are all the probate costs to be considered. It would mean that probate would have to be granted before a surviving partner could get his or entitlement for the part of the estate held by the person who died as a tenant in common.