Joint Tenancy and How It’s Relevant

What is joint tenant with rights of survivorship?

A joint tenant with right of survivorship (JTWROS) is legal ownership arrangement that involves two or more parties for any type of financial account or other asset. Joint tenants are two or more people who own property together. In the event that one of the tenants die, the remaining tenants will receive the ownership interest of the property that the belated tenant had at death. This means that the last living owner of the property owns all of the assets. In order for property to be held as “joint tenants” the following for requirements must be present:

1. Unity of Time: Tenants must take possession of the property at the same time.
2. Unity of Title: Tenants must take title by the same “instrument.”
3. Unity of Interest: Each tenant must have an equal interest in the property.
4. Unity of Possession: Each tenant has a right to possess and enjoy the entire property even though they do not have 100% ownership.

Benefits of Owning Property as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship?

One of the biggest advantages to owning property as JTWROS is that it avoids the time-consuming probate process. Since joint tenancy is an arrangement that allows the beneficiaries to access your account without having to go to court. Other benefits to owning property as JTWROS include sharing responsibility of the property, and continuity. The properties responsibilities are shared by requiring the tenants to a JTWROS to put in an equal share of any bills, such as property taxes, maintenance, or repairs.

How Do You Terminate Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship?

What happens if two of the tenants to a JTWROS begin to hate each other? What happens if one of the tenants wants to sell the property but another does not? It is actually an easier solution that most might assume. In order to terminate a JTWROS, one of the four unities must be destroyed. You can terminate a JTWROS by conveying your ownership interest to any third person, which can be done by gift or sale. In addition, a joint tenant may transfer their ownership interest unilaterally and without the knowledge or approval from the other tenant(s).

If you want to terminate your JTWROS you can also seek judicial partition. If a court is able to equitably split up the property, then a partition in kind will be used to split up the land between co-tenants. If the court is unable to equitably split up the land the a partition by sale will be used and each co-tenant will receives their share of the profits.