The state of Arizona is a community property state. Property law in Arizona falls under ARS Title 33 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, and joint tenancy with the right of survivorship is under ARS Title 33-431 of the same Statutes.
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 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.
For instance, if you're married, the most common way to title your home is Tenancy by the Entirety (TBE).
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.
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.