The only way you can be sure that the home you own will go to the person you want it to, is to make a legally valid Will. 

That’s because, if you die without making a Will, then the law will decide who inherits from you under the rules of intestacy.

If you own your home jointly with someone else, you may share that property as either ‘joint tenants’ or ‘tenants in common’.

If you own a property with someone as joint tenants, then the ownership of the property will automatically transfer to the surviving owner when one of you dies. If you own the property with another person as Tenants in Common, you and the co-owner will each own a specific share of the property. In this situation, if you were to die with no Will in place, then the co-owner of the house would not automatically inherit your share of the home. Instead, your share would be passed down in line with the rules of intestacy.

This can cause difficulties in some circumstances, especially where partners are not married and therefore not automatically entitled to inherit property that might then pass on to children from a previous marriage. It can even cause surviving partners to end up losing their home in some cases. That’s why it’s very important to write a Will to ensure your loved ones are protected and your property passed on in line with your wishes when you die.