Joint Tenants Or Tenants In Common For Married Couples In Phoenix
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The key difference is in post-mortem property sale taxation. Joint tenancy triggers capital gains tax on property sales after a spouse's death. CPWROS exempts it. Additionally, joint tenancy is open to anyone, while community property is usually for married couples.
In Arizona, owning property as “tenants in common” is the default for co-ownership of real property. If a deed transfers title of real property to two or more individuals in their names with no specific rights of survivorship language, then the owners own the property as tenants in common.
For instance, if you're married, the most common way to title your home is Tenancy by the Entirety (TBE).
Utilizing a revocable trust is the best way for a married couple to take title. Titling property in your trust avoids probate upon the death of both the initial and surviving spouses and preserves the capital gains step up for the entire property on the first death.
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.
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!
The Bottom Line Tenancy by the entirety is a legal arrangement where a married couple shares equal ownership of a property, and ownership automatically passes to the survivor if their partner dies. This allows the survivor to avoid probate and protects the home from any claims against the other tenant.
For instance, if you're married, the most common way to title your home is Tenancy by the Entirety (TBE). That endows survivorship rights, some creditor protection, and allows for transfers only with the consent of both spouses.
A joint tenancy is severed by (a) mortgage or creation of a deed of trust, (b) transfer to a revocable or irrevocable trust, (c) contract to convey the property, or (d) destruction of one or more of the four unities; and the result is the failure of the right of survivorship. In re the Estate of Estelle, 122 Ariz.
