Title refers to the registered owner of a property. After purchasing or inheriting a property, your real estate lawyer would transfer the title to you. You will be able to include just your name on the title, or include the name of other investors, such as your parents or spouse on the title as well. In case of a marriage, names of both spouses will be included in the title. However, determining the most important name out of them in the title can be problematic, especially when one person puts more money to buy the property.
Number of people that can be on the title
There is no limit for the number of owners to be on the title. In most instances, it is one person, but there are situations where joint tenants include their names on the title. If one person dies, the surviving tenant will be able to have complete ownership of the property. In fact, only the surviving tenant is capable of handing over the property to someone as per the Will.
If there are more than two owners, and if one of them dies, the property ownership will go to a beneficiary of that tenant according to their Will. However, this will not take place automatically. Until that, the other tenants in common will be keeping the ownership.
The percentage of ownership
During a joint tenancy, each joint tenant is having the same percentage of ownership over the property. For example, if there are two joint owners, the percentage of ownership would be 50% each. It will be 25% each when there are four joint tenants. However, this changes for scenarios where there are tenants in common. That’s because the tenants have the freedom to determine whatever the ownership they prefer to have over the property. For example, one person can have 25% ownership, and pass 75% ownership to another person.
How to share the ownership of a matrimonial home
It is a good idea to be joint tenants of a matrimonial home. By doing this, each owner will be able to serve as a full owner to the house. In case if one of the partners die, the other will be able to become the owner of the property. This will keep property away from getting into a probate, which can eventually help you with saving a considerable amount of tax money in the long run.