The family home, and who ends up with it

For most families the house is the estate. How it is held on the title decides more than the will does.

Joint tenancy versus tenants in common

Property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner and never enters the estate. Held as tenants in common, each share is dealt with by that owner’s will. Couples usually hold as joint tenants; second marriages often should not, and a joint tenancy can be severed while both owners are alive.

The clauses that decide whether a sale is forced

A gift of “my home” to one child and “the residue” to another can force a sale to equalise the shares. These are the four clauses that prevent it.

• A right of residence lets someone stay without owning it

• A life interest gives them the use of it for life, with the capital preserved

• An equalisation clause balances the shares without selling the house

• Silence usually means a sale

Where the mortgage goes

A gift of “my house” does not automatically carry the debt with it. Unless the will says otherwise, the person receiving the house may receive the mortgage too, or the estate may have to pay it out of everyone else’s share. One sentence settles it.

The half hour that is worth paying for

Who needs to keep living there, for how long, and what happens if they remarry or need care. This is the part of the drafting most often left to a template, and the part most often argued about afterwards.