When you purchase a real property with spouse or another person, you have to register your title as joint tenant or tenants in common. There is a difference between the two forms of ownership. What are they?
Joint Tenants: The characteristics of joint tenants are:
- Each joint tenant has the right of ownership in the whole property
- The essential benefit of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship which means that if one joint tenant passes away, his or her interest in the property diminishes and the surviving joint tenant becomes the sole owner of the real property. Spouses usually take title as joint tenants.
- All joint tenants own identical and equal portion in the real property and acquire title from the same document at the same time.
- Joint tenancy is often utilized for estate planning purposes.
Tenants in Common: The characteristics of tenants in common are:
- Each owner holds a percentage of interest in the real property.
- Each owner possesses a separate and divisible interest in the property and is the owner of his or her share in the real property separately.
- The tenant’s share can be transferred to anyone, a friend or a relative in the Will or sold to anyone. If there is no Will, the interest in the real property becomes owned by the estate of the deceased tenant and the share is transferred to the beneficiaries of the estate.
- There is no right of survivorship and a tenant in common can deal with his or her share in the property according to their wish.Call us @905-290-7205 for more information.