Is a Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship a suitable alternative to a Will?
Joint tenancies with right of survivorship can be established when two or more people hold title to bank accounts and other assets collectively in their names. The purpose of this is to insure that real estate ownership is passed to the remaining named owner, upon the death the other owner. A “Tenancy by the Entireties” is the same concept but pertains only to situations where the parties are legally married. In this instance, probate of accounts and other assets can be avoided in the event that one of the persons becomes deceased. While in some cases this can be efficient, quite often it can cause problems such as increases in estate taxes, or double probate in the event of simultaneous death. It may also create issues with regard to unresolved claims against the decedent.
