What Is Joint Tenancy Of Property?
While joint ownership is a common way for spouses to share title what about none spouse or business partners. Here's a look at joint tenancy.
Joint Tenancy is a form of property ownership typically used when the co-owners are not spouses,
or have contributed different amounts of money for purchase of the property.
Legal definitions refer to Joint Tenancy as "the four unities, " meaning that each co-owner is entitled to unity of time, title, interest and possession of the property. This confers upon each joint tenant an undivided right to possess the whole property and a proportionate right of equal ownership and is a great alternative to joint ownership.
Joint tenancy often conveys what's known as "right of survivorship." This means that when one of the joint tenants dies, the surviving joint tenants gain the deceased's interest in the property.
It's common for business partners to share in commercial assets in a form called "Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship." These can include real property, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, or personal property of the business (desks, chairs, office equipment etc.). Through Joint Tenancy, the firm can continue despite the death of one of the owners.
Among its advantages, Joint Tenancy helps the owners avoid the delays of probate. That's the legal process by which a deceased's will is reviewed by a probate court, which decides whether the will is legal and valid. This process can take months, during which time nothing could be done with the deceased's assets.
Probate delays can be a big problem for a surviving spouse who might need to sell property for income or for a business that needs to stay in operation. Joint Tenancy can prevent this hazard.
Joint Tenancy also conveys equal responsibility for the property upon the co-owners. In other words, they share equally in the property's assets and liabilities. It also means that none of the co-owners can create a debt using the asset without being a party to the debt himself or herself. In other words, a joint tenant can't get a loan on the property and then skip out on the debt, leaving his or her partners "holding the bag."
One of the major disadvantages to Joint Tenancy is an unstable relationship between or among the partners. Business partners in dispute, or divorcing couples, find that neither party can make use of the asset for sale or loan without the other's consent. That's why Joint Tenancy should be entered into only when a stable relationship exists.
