If a person owns a property together with another person as “tenants in common”, their share in the property will be administered in terms of intestacy law if they do not leave a will, whereas if the person had a will they can decide what happens with their share of the property when they die.
If they own a property together with another person as “joint tenants” their share will automatically pass to the surviving owner, as their share of the property does not form part of their estate. In this case it does not matter whether the person made a will or not. A person who owns a share of a property as a “joint tenant” who does not want their share to go to the other owner when they die should take legal advice about strategies to avoid this occurring.
The law of succession can be complicated and by consulting with an expert estate planning lawyer you will have peace of mind that all the formalities have been met and that your wishes have been correctly recorded.