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Law Cases
Land Law Cases
Co-ownership Cases

Harris v Goddard [1983] 100 LQR 161

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Held

  • In a divorce petition, the petitioner sought to sever the joint tenancy in the family home.

  • The respondent died in a car crash before the hearing.

Held

  • The mere inclusion of such a prayer did not itself operate to sever the joint tenancy. The desire to sever must be immediate. A prayer in a petition was an invitation to a court at some future time to sever the interests, and was not immediate.

  • The joint tenancy had not been severed and the petitioner took the entire property.

  • A notice in writing under s.36(2) had to evince an intention to sever immediately, unlike a court petition which is not effective immediately but merely upon the decision of the court. 

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