Any owner in a tenancy in common can freely transfer their right in the property. They can own unequal shares in the property, but each has a right to occupy and use the entire property. Tenants in common have the most flexibility. If a tenant in common passes away, their interest becomes part of their estate and passes either according to their will, if they have one, or according to the laws of intestacy in the state where the property is located. Tenants in common do not have the right of survivorship.
If one joint tenant decides to convey their interest in the property to a new owner, the joint tenancy is broken and the new owner has a tenancy in common. If the joint tenants mutually agree to sell the property, they must equally divide the proceeds of the sale equally.īecause disagreement over the disposition of property is common, courts sometimes intervene to divide the property equally among the owners. Only ownership of equal shares is possible under joint tenancy.
Joint tenants are considered to each own an undivided interest in their property as a whole. For this reason, many married couples choose to own their property in joint tenancy, so that when one spouse dies, the other becomes the sole owner of the property. This means that when one of the joint tenants passes away, their interest in the property passes to the remaining joint tenant or tenants. One important difference in rights is the fact that joint tenants have a right of survivorship. What Are My Rights as a Joint Owner of Real Property? Do I Need a Lawyer to Help Me with My Joint Ownership Problem?.What Happens if there are Joint Real Property Ownership Disputes?.Can a Co-owner of Real Property Rent Without the Other’s Permission?.What Are My Duties as a Joint Owner of Real Property?.Which States Recognize Tenancy by the Entirety?.What Are My Rights as a Joint Owner of Real Property?.This is not the case with joint ownership. Of course, if a person is the sole owner of property, their actions with respect to the property are not constrained in any way by the wishes of other owners.
Joint ownership of property is to be compared with sole ownership of property. In the states in which it is recognized, it is also limited to married couples. Assets other than real property can be co-owned, although usually tenancy by the entirety is limited to real property. The default rule for co-ownership is tenancy in common. There are three main ways to own property jointly:Ī joint owner’s legal rights and obligations will depend on the type of co-ownership they choose. Many people chose to own property in some form of “concurrent” or co-ownership. There are a number of ways in which two or more people can own property together. They might be other kinds of legal entities, e.g. Joint ownership of property is simply a case in which two or more people own the same piece of property. Are You a Lawyer? Grow Your Practice What Is Joint Ownership of Real Property?