Are parents tenants in common or joint tenants

Hi

A couple of years ago my parents wrote their wills and were advised to move from joint tenants of their property to tenants in common. They were told that signing a statement to that effect and keeping it with their deeds would be sufficient. Nothing was registered with the land registry. The house has was bought in about 1983.

Now, my mother has passed away and we are trying to determine the status of ownership. 

The signed statement says – "We are (names, address, date), the owner of (property).

Having regard to considerations of asset protection and section 36(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925, each of us hereby gives notice to the other of our desire to sever our joint tenancy of the property and henceforth hold the property and future proceeds of sale as tenants in common with immediate effect. 

Signed (both parties)."

Is this statement enough to prove the house is owned as tenants in common?

Thanks
 

Hi Stuart - we don't define people as being joint tenants or tenants in common. So the land register is not the definitive source of such information and there are a variety of ways joint owners can sever their joint tenancy, become tenants in common for example.
I am assuming that the property is not actually registered so making the change they did would only have been added to the original deeds/docs anyway.

Hi Adam. Thanks for your answer. You're right - the house has not been registered. We're still figuring it out but what you have said is helpful.

Stuart.