Joint Tenants With Right Of Survivorship Vs Tenants In Common In Washington

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US-00414BG
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Description

Co ownership of real property can be in the following forms:



" Tenancy in common, in which the interest of each owner may be transferred or inherited;


" Joint tenancy, in which the tenants each have a right of survivorship;


" Tenants by the entirety, in which a husband and wife own property and have a right of survivorship; or


" Community property, which applies in some States to property acquired during the period of a marriage.


The phrase joint tenancy refers to a method of ownership by which one person mutually holds legal title to property with other persons in such a way that when one of the joint owners dies his share automatically passes to the surviving joint owners by operation of law.


Traditionally, when two or more people own real property together, they hold it as tenants in common. Owning real property as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship has, in the past, been usually been limited to married couples or other close kinship. However, there is no reason that single unmarried people cannot own property in a joint tenancy arrangement.

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  • Preview Agreement by Unmarried Individuals to Purchase and Hold Residence as Joint Tenants
  • Preview Agreement by Unmarried Individuals to Purchase and Hold Residence as Joint Tenants
  • Preview Agreement by Unmarried Individuals to Purchase and Hold Residence as Joint Tenants

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FAQ

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.

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.

There are exceptions, but generally stated, community property is liable for debts of either spouse, whereas the separate property of the non-debtor spouse, or the one-half joint tenancy interest of the non-debtor spouse, is not liable for debts of the other spouse.

Washington is one of a few remaining community property states in the country, which means items considered marital property are generally split equally. ing to Washington law, marital (or community) property is that which was acquired by either party during the course of the marriage, with some exceptions.

Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship If you own property with someone else as joint tenants with "right of survivorship," then the surviving owner automatically owns the property when the other owner dies.

Bottom-line: If a married couple holds property in true joint tenancy, then it will pass outside of probate to the surviving spouse and not be subject to probate as it otherwise would have been (unless it was instead subject to a Community Property Agreement).

Joint tenancy offers the right of survivorship and ensures that the property passes directly to the surviving owners upon death, while tenancy in common allows for more flexibility and individual control over shares of the property.

Cons. Disregarding a will or owner's heirs: Owners can't will their ownership share to their heirs. When owners die, their share of the home immediately passes on to their co-owner or co-owners. If you want to pass your portion of a home to a child, you'll need a different form of ownership.

While joint tenancy offers simplicity and the advantage of avoiding probate, tenants in common provide greater flexibility in ownership and inheritance planning. Each form of ownership serves different needs, so it's essential to carefully evaluate your circumstances before deciding.

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!

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Joint Tenants With Right Of Survivorship Vs Tenants In Common In Washington