Tenants in common gives you more protections and you can specify in a deed of trust what you would want to happen in the event of relationship breakdown (eg if one of you has first dibs to buy the other out, or a time limit on doing so etc) which is definitely better to decide now whilst you still like each other!
These are Joint Tenants and Tenants in Common. They apply regardless of whether you are married, in a civil partnership, or unmarried. Both these two types of ownership give the owners rights of occupation in the property, whether you are married or unmarried.
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 Tenancy Definition Common Use: This form of ownership is popular among married couples or family members, as it ensures that the property passes to the surviving owner(s) without the need for probate. Legal Implications: In Joint Tenancy, each owner has an undivided interest in the entire property.
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS) This is often a common vesting for married couples, but it also applies to family members planning to own a property together.
Further tenancy in common allows parties to hold unequal shares of property interest. Joint tenancy requires each co-owner to hold equal shares of property. Further, co-owners must transfer the deed at the same time. In this sense, joint tenancy is rigid compared to tenancy in common.
Joint tenancy should be used with extreme caution. It can subject a co- owner to unnecessary taxes and liabili- ty for the other co-owner's debts. It can also deprive heirs of bequeathed prop- erty and, in California, leave the joint tenant without right of survivorship.
Like tenants in common, a joint tenant is permitted to sell their share of the property. Joint tenants differ from Tenants in Common in that they always own equal shares of the property meaning that they do not have the option of assigning different stakes to each property owner.
Typically, when married couples are listed under the real estate title as “husband and wife” a tenancy by the entireties is presumed. At the death of one spouse, the real estate interest passes automatically to the surviving spouse by operation of law similarly to the joint tenancy with right of survivorship.