Can I leave my share of my house to my children?

Q I own my house jointly with my wife, and have no mortgage. Can l leave my share to my children in my will?

RD

A If you truly own your house jointly with your wife then it would automatically revert to her on your death. However if you are actually tenants in common, as many couples are, then you can leave your 50% share to your children, although usually the spouse retains a life interest because the house cannot be sold without her/ his permission.

Many people change from joint ownership to tenants in common, so that they can leave their half to a discretionary trust for their children, with the spouse having a life interest. It is a way of using up the deceased spouse's Inheritance Tax exemption (currently ?250,000) which might otherwise be wasted. Changing to tenants in common is very easily done - simply requiring an exchange of letters - and setting up the discretionary trust is normally done by wills, as it doesn't become effective until death. It is quite standard practice and costs no more than drawing up a normal will.