What is joint tenancy and why do so many people use it?
Joint tenancy ownership is where two or more people hold title to an asset together. Unlike other forms of joint ownership, upon the death of one of the owners, the entire interest in the property passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant(s). The legal term for holding property in a joint tenancy is “joint tenancy with a right of survivorship.” Right of survivorship means that whoever dies last owns the whole property. A joint tenant’s interest passes to the surviving joint tenant immediately at death. Therefore, the distribution of such property is not controlled by the joint owner’s will. For example, two good friends, Joe and John, own a piece of real property as joint tenants. Joe dies leaving a will that says upon his death, all of Joe’s estate shall go to his wife, Mary. What happens to Joe’s interest in the real property he owns with John? Because title passes automatically at death to the surviving joint tenant, John will own the entire property and Mary will get nothi
Joint tenancy ownership is where two or more people hold title to an asset together. Unlike other forms of joint ownership, upon the death of one of the owners, the entire interest in the property passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant(s). The legal term for holding property in a joint tenancy is Joint Tenancy With a Right of Survivorship. Right of Survivorship means that whoever dies last owns the whole property. A joint tenant’s interest passes to the surviving joint tenant immediately at death. Therefore, the distribution of such property is not controlled by the joint owner’s will. For example, two good friends, Joe and John, own a piece of real property as joint tenants. Joe dies leaving a will that says upon his death, all of Joe’s estate shall go to his wife, Mary. What happens to Joe’s interest in the real property he owns with John? Because title passes automatically at death to the surviving joint tenant, John will own the entire property and Mary will get nothing
