Does joint ownership avoid probate?
A. Temporarily. With jointly-owned property, when one owner dies, the surviving owner becomes the owner of the asset without going through probate. However, if the final owner dies or if multiple owners all die at the same time, then the asset still must go to probate before it can be distributed. Joint ownership also has other problems associated with it. When you give someone joint ownership of your asset, you are giving him/her all the ownership rights that you have. This means that they can treat the assets as their own. In addition, if she/he are sued, involved in a bankruptcy, or become divorced, the joint asset can become part of his/her property and his/her lawsuit. Finally, if property is jointly owned, all owners must sign in order to sell or to refinance it.
