joint tenants or tenants in common

hi guys , just wondering what are the advantages or disadvantages of buying a property either as joint tenants or as tenants in common ?

Any tax implications as well ?

many thanx.
 
Well, do you want your share to automatically go to the survivor of your partner if you die or do you want to be able to chose who it goes to via your will?

If it forms part of your estate and goes via your will then this share will be at risk if your will is challenged. If it is not in the estate then harder or impossible to challenge (depending on the State).

The tax treatment is generally the same, unless you own JT in unequal shares.

If your share goes into the will then you could leave it to your family via a testamentary trust and get some tax advantages.
 
Well, do you want your share to automatically go to the survivor of your partner if you die or do you want to be able to chose who it goes to via your will?

If it forms part of your estate and goes via your will then this share will be at risk if your will is challenged. If it is not in the estate then harder or impossible to challenge (depending on the State).

The tax treatment is generally the same, unless you own JT in unequal shares.

If your share goes into the will then you could leave it to your family via a testamentary trust and get some tax advantages.

Hi Terry,

We bought our house as tenants in common many, many moons ago, now that we have changed our wills simply leaving everything to each other, would it be better to have our home ownership as joint tenants.

Would we have to pay stamp duty to change the title?

thanks
 
Hi Terry,

We bought our house as tenants in common many, many moons ago, now that we have changed our wills simply leaving everything to each other, would it be better to have our home ownership as joint tenants.

Would we have to pay stamp duty to change the title?

thanks

Macca

Thats a subjective question that only you could answer. Why would you consider this?

Off the top of my head I would say the changing of the title would probably be stamp duty exempt as long as you are not changing ownership percentages.
 
Macca

Thats a subjective question that only you could answer. Why would you consider this?

Off the top of my head I would say the changing of the title would probably be stamp duty exempt as long as you are not changing ownership percentages.

Hi Terry,

Sorry my question was imprecise so I will try again :eek:

We have appointed each other as executors and I was wondering if it would be easier to manage the estate if the house was owned as joint tenants rather than tenants in common
 
Hi Terry,

Sorry my question was imprecise so I will try again :eek:

We have appointed each other as executors and I was wondering if it would be easier to manage the estate if the house was owned as joint tenants rather than tenants in common

It would be easier, but you would also lose all flexibility.

Eg. After the death of Macca, what is to stop Mrs Macca's new boyfriend getting his hands on 'your' property? She could for example leave all her property to the new partner thinking he will take care of the children of Mrs Macca as well as his own. He then dies leaving everything to his children - your children miss out and would be unable to make a claim under the Succession Act because they are step children.

eg2. What if things go well and you buy a bigger main residence and keep this one as an investment. By this stage it is paid off. You then cark it. You don't have the ability to leave it to a testamentary trust which could have meant each minor beneficiary receiving $20,000 pa tax free in income.
 
My husband and I bought our PPOR as Joint Tenants, however this created an issue for me.

I have a son from a previous relationship. Our house is our biggest asset, if I die, the house automatically goes to my husband, potentially leaving my son with little.

So depending on the complexity of your relationship - there can be a big difference in terms of estate planning.
 
To change from Joint tenants to tenants in common is by way of transfer and you may will need to allow about $500 in solicitor fees and then maybe stamp duty unless you are exempt which you would need to check with your solicitor. You can have your teants in common in specific shares such as 60/40 - thats how i have changed mine - especially practical for blended families in my opinion and as Terry states above
 
Not sure if this belongs here or I should start a new thread but:

30-odd years ago my mum bought some land with a bunch of other hippies as tenants in common. A few of them have stayed close friends over the years, a few others have lost contact but can probably still be tracked down through friends of friends, and one of them has completely disappeared off the map.

Does anyone know what the process would be for subdividing the land (into equal parts for each of them), if they can't actually find the owner that's gone AWOL?
 
You wouldn't be able to subdivide the land because you would need the signature of all landholders. Unless you can prove that the missing owner has died, in which case you would have to track down his beneficiaries.
 
Any chance you know how we find out where he is or if he has any beneficiaries? Or do we need to employ the services of a private investigator? Last anyone heard of him was about 20 years ago when he said he was going to head to the NT for a while...
 
If someone hasn't been heard of for x number of years they can be declared dead!! I think the figure is 7 years. After this time application can be made to a court for probate or adminstration of the deceased's estate.

If there is no will then the deceased's share will pass according to the rules of intestacy. So their share will probably go to any surviving spouse or children. If not then parents. If none then other relatives. If there are no entitled persons then the estate will be paid to the state.

Try locating this person by online searches including facebook, google etc. Then you may have to put ads in a newspaper. If that doesn't work then maybe a PI.
 
If someone hasn't been heard of for x number of years they can be declared dead!! I think the figure is 7 years. After this time application can be made to a court for probate or adminstration of the deceased's estate.

If there is no will then the deceased's share will pass according to the rules of intestacy. So their share will probably go to any surviving spouse or children. If not then parents. If none then other relatives. If there are no entitled persons then the estate will be paid to the state.

Try locating this person by online searches including facebook, google etc. Then you may have to put ads in a newspaper. If that doesn't work then maybe a PI.

Thanks Terry! That's great info.
 
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