Moving In or Buying a Home Together After 50: The Financial and Legal Questions

Deciding to live together is a big step at any age. After 50, it often involves far more than choosing whose sofa to keep. You may each own a home. You may have children who expect to inherit. One of you may be moving into a house full of memories of a previous marriage. There are questions about who owns what, who pays for what, what happens if you separate, what happens if one of you dies, and how it all affects tax, benefits and care.

This guide covers the financial and legal questions to think about before moving in together or buying a home together after 50. It looks at the main options (moving into one partner’s home, buying together, or keeping both homes), how property ownership works, tax and costs, protecting children’s inheritance, and a full checklist of questions to ask before you decide.

This guide gives general information, mainly about England and Wales, with notes on Scotland, so you understand the terms and know what to ask. Property and inheritance decisions depend on your circumstances, and only a solicitor and, where relevant, a regulated financial adviser can advise you on them.

The three main options

1. One partner moves into the other’s home

This is often the simplest option financially, especially if one partner owns a home outright. But it raises important questions:

• Will the partner moving in contribute to costs, and how?
• Will they acquire any share in the property?
• What happens to the home they leave, if they own one?
• What happens if the relationship ends, or the owner dies?
• How will the partner moving in feel about living in a home shared with a previous spouse?

2. You buy a new home together

Some couples sell their homes and buy somewhere new together, which can feel like a fresh start. This involves decisions about how much each contributes, how you’ll own the property, and whether you need a mortgage.

3. You keep both homes

Many later-life couples choose to keep their own homes and live apart together, or to spend time in both. This keeps assets separate and simplifies inheritance, but means running two households. Our guide to living apart together after 50 covers this option.

Moving into your partner’s home: the legal position

If you move into a home owned solely by your partner, and you’re not married or in a civil partnership, the general position in England and Wales is:

• No automatic right to stay if the relationship ends or your partner dies, unless your partner’s will provides for you or you make a successful claim through the courts.
• Paying bills and living costs usually doesn’t give you a share of the property.
• Paying towards the mortgage or major improvements might give you a share, but only in some circumstances. The courts look at what you both intended, which can be difficult and expensive to prove. Key cases such as Stack v Dowden and Jones v Kernott show how uncertain this area is.
• If your partner dies, you may be able to claim against their estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 if you’d lived together as a couple for at least two years or were financially dependent on them. A claim isn’t guaranteed, and it can be costly and stressful.

Documents solicitors commonly discuss with couples in this situation

• A written record of contributions, stating what each person pays and whether it gives any share in the property.
• A declaration of trust, which records who owns what share of the property.
• A cohabitation agreement, which sets out financial arrangements and what happens if you separate.
• Wills, including whether the homeowner’s will provides for the partner, for example through a life interest trust.

Whether any of these suits you, and how they should be worded, is something a solicitor would advise on. It’s usual for each partner to take independent advice.

Points that come up for the homeowner

If your partner is moving into your home, these are the questions homeowners often raise with their solicitor and other providers:

• Contributions: whether payments from your partner could give them a share, and how to record what you’ve agreed.
• Your will: what happens to your home if you die, and whether a life interest trust could let your partner stay while the home eventually passes to your children.
• Your mortgage lender: many lenders need to know if another adult lives in the property, and may ask them to sign a form confirming they have no interest in it. Your lender can tell you what it requires.
• Home insurance: your insurer can confirm whether your policy covers another person living there.

Buying a home together

How to own it: joint tenants or tenants in common

In England and Wales, there are two ways to own a property jointly.

Joint tenants own the whole property together. If one dies, the other automatically becomes the sole owner, regardless of any will. This suits couples who want everything to pass to each other.

Tenants in common each own a defined share, which doesn’t have to be equal. For example, 70% and 30% if you contribute different amounts. Each share can be left to anyone in a will. Later-life couples who want their share to pass to their own children often ask their solicitor about this form of ownership.

In Scotland, property law is different. Couples can include a “survivorship destination” in the title deeds, which means the property passes to the survivor, or leave it out, in which case each share passes under the will. Take advice from a Scottish solicitor.

Record your contributions

Where contributions differ, couples often have a solicitor or conveyancer draw up a declaration of trust recording them. It can also set out what happens if one of you wants to sell, how sale proceeds are divided, and how costs such as repairs are shared.

Tax and costs

Stamp Duty and its equivalents

When you buy a home, you may have to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in England and Northern Ireland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) in Scotland, or Land Transaction Tax (LTT) in Wales.

A key issue for later-life couples is the higher rate for additional properties:

• In England and Northern Ireland, a surcharge (currently 5 percentage points on top of the standard rates) usually applies if, at the end of the day of purchase, any buyer owns another residential property worth £40,000 or more and the new home isn’t replacing their main residence.
• Married couples and civil partners are treated as one unit. If either spouse owns another property, the surcharge usually applies, even if the other doesn’t.
• Unmarried couples are assessed individually. But if you buy jointly and either of you will still own another property, the surcharge usually applies to the whole purchase.
• Replacing a main residence. If you’re selling your current main home as part of the move, the surcharge usually won’t apply. If you pay it because your old home hasn’t sold yet, you may be able to claim a refund if you sell it within three years.
• Scotland has an Additional Dwelling Supplement under LBTT, and Wales has higher residential rates under LTT, with their own rules and rates.

These rules are complicated, and rates change. Check the current rules on GOV.UK, Revenue Scotland or the Welsh Revenue Authority, and ask your solicitor to confirm before you exchange.

Capital Gains Tax if you keep your old home

If you keep your old home and rent it out, rather than selling it, you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax when you eventually sell it, on any gain since it stopped being your main residence (with some relief for the period it was your home). You’ll also pay Income Tax on rental income. Married couples and civil partners can only have one main residence between them for Capital Gains Tax purposes. Take advice from an accountant or tax adviser.

Mortgages later in life

If you need a mortgage, lenders will consider your ages, incomes and how long the mortgage will run. Many lenders have maximum ages at the end of the mortgage term. Some offer later-life products, such as retirement interest-only mortgages. If one of you is retired, the lender will look at pension income. A regulated mortgage adviser can help you find suitable options.

Running costs

Don’t forget the ongoing costs of a shared home: Council Tax, utilities, insurance, maintenance and repairs. Agree how you’ll share them. Our guide to money in later-life relationships covers ways to share costs fairly.

Benefits, Council Tax and care

• Means-tested benefits. If either of you receives Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, moving in together as a couple usually means your entitlement is assessed on your combined income and savings. This can reduce or end payments.
• Council Tax. If you currently get a 25% single person discount, it usually ends when another adult moves in.
• Care fees. If one of you needs residential care in future, the value of a home is usually disregarded while a partner or certain relatives still live there. But the rules are complicated and vary between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Schemes that promise to protect a home from care fees carry real risks. Citizens Advice, Age UK or a solicitor can explain the rules where you live.

Protecting your partner and your children

Many later-life couples want a surviving partner to have somewhere to live, while their share of the home eventually passes to their own children.

Arrangements solicitors commonly discuss include:

• Owning as tenants in common, so each share can be left by will.
• A life interest trust in each will, allowing the survivor to live in the home for life or a set period, after which the share passes to the children.
• Wills that reflect current wishes, reviewed when circumstances change.
• Pension nominations and life insurance written in trust, which can provide money for a partner or children outside the will.

In England and Wales, marriage revokes an existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. If you marry after moving in, any existing wills are cancelled, which is something to raise with a solicitor. Our guide to protecting your children’s inheritance in a new relationship explains these tools in more detail.

If you separate

If you’re not married, there’s no special family court process for dividing property when you separate in England and Wales. Disputes are decided under property and trust law, based on legal ownership and what you both intended. That’s why solicitors often discuss declarations of trust and cohabitation agreements with unmarried couples.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, the courts can divide property more flexibly, taking into account needs, contributions and other factors. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can help set out what you’d like to happen.

In Scotland, cohabitants have some limited rights to apply for financial provision when they separate, but claims must be made within a year of separation. Take advice from a Scottish solicitor.

The emotional and practical side

Money and law are only part of the decision. Before moving in, it’s worth thinking about:

• Whose home it will feel like. Moving into a partner’s long-standing home, especially one shared with a previous spouse, can leave the newcomer feeling like a guest. Our guide to wedding rings, photos and belongings when you start dating again covers some of the sensitivities.
• Your families. Adult children may worry about inheritance, the family home and changes to traditions. Talk to them early. Our guide to when adult children disapprove of your new partner may help.
• Routines and space. After years of living alone or with someone else, you’ll each have habits. Discuss how you’ll share space, chores and time.
• Trying it first. Many couples spend long periods staying in each other’s homes before committing, such as several weeks at a time, to see how daily life works.

The financial questions to ask before moving in together

This is the checklist to work through, ideally with each other and then with a solicitor.

About the property

1. Whose home will we live in, or will we buy somewhere new?
2. If one of us moves in, will they contribute to the mortgage or improvements, and will that give them a share?
3. If we buy, how much will each of us contribute, and will we own as joint tenants or tenants in common?
4. Should we have a declaration of trust recording our shares?
5. What happens to the home either of us leaves: sell, rent out or keep empty?
6. Will Stamp Duty surcharges or Capital Gains Tax apply?

About day-to-day money

1. How will we split bills, food and household costs?
2. Will we have a joint account for shared costs?
3. Who will pay for repairs, maintenance and insurance?
4. How will we handle big purchases, such as a car or holidays?

About debts and commitments

1. Does either of us have debts, such as a mortgage, loans or credit cards?
2. Do we have financial commitments to children or ex-partners?

About benefits and tax

1. Will moving in affect either of our benefits, such as Pension Credit?
2. Will we lose a Council Tax single person discount?

About the future

1. What happens if we separate? Should we have a cohabitation agreement?
2. What happens if one of us dies? Do our wills reflect this?
3. Should either will include a life interest trust so the survivor can stay in the home?
4. Have we updated our pension nominations and life insurance?
5. Do we each have lasting powers of attorney?
6. What would happen if one of us needed care?

Working through these questions may feel unromantic, but many couples find it brings them closer. It shows that you’re both taking each other, and your families, seriously.

When to get professional advice

It’s worth speaking to:

• A solicitor about property ownership, declarations of trust, cohabitation agreements, wills and powers of attorney. Look for one with experience of later-life and blended family situations.
• A regulated financial adviser about pensions, investments and how moving in affects your overall finances.
• A mortgage adviser if you need a mortgage.
• An accountant or tax adviser if you’re keeping a second property or selling one with a significant gain.
• Citizens Advice or Age UK about benefits.

The bottom line

Moving in or buying a home together after 50 involves significant legal and financial decisions. In England and Wales, unmarried couples have no automatic rights to each other’s property. How you own a home, whether contributions are recorded, Stamp Duty surcharges, Capital Gains Tax, benefits, wills and trusts all affect what happens if you separate or one of you dies.

Use the checklist above to work out what matters to you both, then take it to a solicitor and, where money or tax is involved, a regulated financial adviser or tax adviser before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get rights to my partner’s house if I move in?

Not automatically, if you’re not married. Contributions to bills usually don’t give you a share. Contributions to the mortgage or improvements might, but it’s uncertain. A solicitor can explain how any agreement should be recorded.

Should we own our home as joint tenants or tenants in common?

Joint tenants suits couples who want the survivor to inherit everything automatically. Tenants in common suits couples who want to leave their share to their own children. A solicitor or conveyancer can explain which fits your circumstances.

Will we pay the Stamp Duty surcharge if one of us keeps a property?

Often, yes. If either buyer will own another residential property after the purchase and it isn’t a replacement main residence, the higher rates usually apply. Check the current rules.

What is a declaration of trust?

A legal document recording how much of a property each person owns and what happens if it’s sold.

Can my partner stay in my house if I die?

Only if your will allows it, or if they make a successful claim through the courts. A life interest trust can let them stay while protecting your children’s inheritance.

Does moving in together affect benefits?

Yes. Means-tested benefits are usually assessed on a couple’s combined income and savings, and a Council Tax single person discount usually ends.

Related guides

• Money in later-life relationships: separate accounts and sharing costs
• Protecting your children’s inheritance in a new relationship
• Should you remarry after 50? Marriage vs living together vs living apart
• Living apart together after 50
• What happens to your pension if you remarry?

Sources

• GOV.UK, Stamp Duty Land Tax: higher rates for additional properties.
• Revenue Scotland (LBTT Additional Dwelling Supplement) and Welsh Revenue Authority (LTT higher rates).
• Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 and Jones v Kernott [2011] UKSC 53.
• Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
• Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006, cohabitants’ claims.
• GOV.UK and Citizens Advice guidance on living together and property.