Joint Tenancy Definition With Example In Massachusetts
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Joint tenants have equal property ownership, share profits and liabilities, and often have a right of survivorship. Tenants in common can have unequal shares, lack a right of survivorship, and can pass their share to chosen beneficiaries.
In joint tenancy, the deed of trust establishes equal rights for all co-owners and includes a right of survivorship. On the other hand, in tenancy in common, the deed of trust clarifies that each co-owner has separate shares of the property with no right of survivorship.
This means that all co-owners have the same percentage of ownership. For example, in a joint tenancy with two individuals, each joint tenant would have a 50% interest. In a joint tenancy with three individuals, each joint tenant would have a 33.33% interest, and so on.
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 tenants also own an undivided interest in property. The main difference between joint tenants and tenants-in-common is that, upon the death of a joint tenant, that co-owner's interests are extinguished and the surviving co-owner(s) receive the property.
You can find out what type of joint ownership you have by checking documents such as a: property transfer. property lease. trust deed, also known as a 'declaration of trust' (a document stating an owner's share in a jointly owned property)
Joint Tenancy is for situations where there is more than one equal owner. The interests must be equal, occurring under the same conveyance, and beginning at the same time. When one owner dies, their ownership interest goes by operation of law (automatically) to the surviving owner(s).
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!
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.
