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| Joint Tenancy | When two or more persons own a property, they are Joint tenants with the common law right of survivorship meaning the survivor inherits the property without reference to the decedent's will. Creditors may still bring suit to have the property divided to settle claims against one of the owners. | |
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Additional comments : Ownership rights. Each joint tenant has an equal, undivided interest in the whole property. As with tenancy in common, each joint tenant may enter onto the common property, take possession of the whole, occupy and utilize every portion of the property at all times and in all circumstances. But, the rights to use and possession are not exclusive; the same rights are shared by each joint tenant. If income is derived from the property, each joint tenant is entitled to her proportionate share of the income. Ownership responsibilities. Each joint tenant is also responsible for her proportionate share of expenses, taxes, and repairs. If the expenses are paid by one joint tenant, the other joint tenants must reimburse her for their share. The duty to reimburse may be enforced by one joint tenant by placing a lien against the interests of the other joint tenants. If one joint tenant pays for improvements to the property, the other joint tenants must reimburse only for the lesser of the cost of the improvements or the increase in value of the common property. Survivorship rights. On the death of one of the joint tenants, the title that was held by the deceased person passes automatically to the surviving joint owners, not to the heirs of the deceased person or the relatives or persons named in his or her will. The right of survivorship continues until the sole survivor owns all of the property. Severance. There is nothing sacred about a joint tenancy. It may be broken by any of the joint tenants. Certain actions will break it, even against the wishes of the other joint tenants, and convert it into a tenancy in common, so that the survivorship feature will not take effect. |
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