Joint Tenants

This legal expression has nothing to do with renting property but relates to buying a home. When you buy a property with a partner you have a choice of ownership. The most common, as Joint Tenants, means you share the obligations of ownership equally. Accordingly, on death, the surviving partner automatically inherits the whole property. The alternative, Tenants in Common (q.v.), means you only own a pre-agreed share of the property (usually 50% of course). However, on your death, this share can be willed separately and need not necessarily be left to your partner.