To challenge the right of survivorship, the party contesting the right must file a lawsuit and prove their case in court with the help of a lawyer.
Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship (JTWROS)
For example, if two unmarried partners make equal contributions toward purchasing a inium and they choose to hold title as joint tenants, the surviving joint tenant will automatically become the sole and separate owner of the inium after the first joint tenant dies.
Joint tenancy is most common among married couples because it helps property owners avoid probate. Without joint tenancy, a spouse would have to wait for their partner's Last Will to go through a legal review process—which can take months or even years.
Joint tenants need not be married or otherwise related, and any sort of property, real or personal, may be held in joint tenancy. Only married couples may hold property as tenants by the entirety in Illinois, and they may use that form of ownership only for homestead property.
Joint Tenants in Illinois In particular, joint tenancies with right of survivorship involve all parties having equal ownership and the right to assume another owner's interest in the event the other owner dies.
If all the joint owners of an asset intended that when one of them died their share would pass to the other joint owner(s), then this is a survivorship asset. This type of asset is always owned equally and the deceased's share of the asset passes to the other joint owner(s) by survivorship.
Community Property with Right of Survivorship For example, let's say that married couple Joe and Jane own a inium as community property with the Right of Survivorship. If Jane dies, Joe automatically becomes the sole owner of the condo without going through the probate process.
Historically, the common law required that in order for a joint tenancy to be created, the co-owners must share the “four unities” of (1) time – the property interest must be acquired by both tenants at the same time; (2) title - both tenants must have the same title to the property in the deed; (3) interest - both ...
In the context of joint tenancy, typically four unities are required for its valid creation: Unity of Possession, Unity of Interest, Unity of Time, and Unity of Title, collectively referred to as the 'four unities' in property law. However, one example of a 'unity' that is not required is the Unity of Marriage.
 
                     
                    