A Joint Tenancy is a part of real estate law and property ownership. There are specific aspects of a Joint Tenancy that need to be understood.
A Joint Tenancy is where two or more people equally join and hold obligations to a property. An aspect of a Joint Tenancy is the right of survivorship. If you would like to terminate your Joint Tenancy, there are several steps you must take to terminate your Joint Tenancy.
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What Is A Joint Tenancy?
A Joint Tenancy is a legal arrangement in which more than one person jointly owns a property. One of the main aspects of a Joint Tenancy is that the people in the Joint Tenancy have equal rights and obligations.
A Joint Tenancy can be formed with about anyone. It can be between a married couple, a non-married couple, friends, family, or business associates. Any two people can agree to form a joint tenancy property agreement.
But like many other things in real estate and property ownership, some specific things have to do with a joint tenancy agreement.
Specific Aspects Of A Joint Tenancy Agreement
Here are some of the specific aspects that have to do with ownership in a joint tenancy agreement:
- The Joint Tenancy agreement is a type of property ownership usually deals with real estate.
- Each party in a Joint Tenancy will have an equal interest in the real estate property. If two people are in a joint tenancy agreement, they will hold 50% of the property. If there are four people in the joint tenancy agreement, they each own 25%.
- As each person has joint ownership, they each have joint obligations for any expenses arising from the property, including mortgages, property taxes, and maintenance. If there are two people in the Joint Tenancy, they would be 50% responsible; if they were four, they would be 25% responsible, and so forth.
- Suppose one person in the Joint Tenancy fails to meet financial obligations. In that case, the other party or parties in the Joint Tenancy will need to be able to assume responsibility.
- The names of the Joint Tenants are put on the property deed. In other words, their name will be on the property’s deed.
- A Joint Tenancy agreement automatically creates the right of survivorship. The right of survivorship means that if one party dies, their interest is automatically transferred to the surviving joint tenants.
How To Terminate A Joint Tenancy Agreement
A Joint Tenancy agreement can be unilaterally severed without the knowledge or consent of the other joint tenants. But a few things will happen when you sever or terminate a joint tenancy agreement.
Here are some of the ways that Joint Tenancy Agreements Can Be Terminated:
- You and the other Joint Tenants can agree to convert your Joint Tenancy into a Tenancy In Common. This would terminate the Joint Tenancy and convert your part to a Tenancy In Common.
- You can unilaterally transfer your share to a third person. You can do this without the knowledge or consent of the other Joint Tenants. This person would not be a Joint Tenant but would have a Tenancy In Common.
- You can also transfer your shares to what is known as a Strawman or another third person. This can also be done without the knowledge or consent of your joint tenants. The Strawman will usually transfer your shares back to you, but you will no longer be a joint tenant but will have a tenancy in common with the other joint tenants.
- If you cannot do the terminations of the Joint Tenancy above, you can look for a judicial partition. There are two types of judicial partitions, as follows.
- This includes a partition that will refer to the physical division of the land, and the court will then decide how to divide the land.
- If the court cannot divide up the land, you could also force the sale of the property.
The rules for a Joint Tenancy and, in particular, the use of a strawman can differ from state to state. Many states now allow a joint tenant to transfer their interest to themselves.
But as with many types of real estate, Joint Tenancy laws and the termination of a joint tenancy can be pretty complicated. That is why we highly recommend hiring a lawyer in the state and area of the joint tenancy property if you want to sever a joint tenancy agreement.
One of the reasons why somebody may want to terminate their Joint Tenancy agreement is because the joint tenancy agreement automatically has the right of survivorship, which states your shares in the property when you die will go to the surviving members of the joint tenancy.
You may be in a Joint Tenancy agreement where you want to ensure that your heirs will be able to benefit from your property ownership in the joint Tenancy. If that is the case, you will probably want to consider changing your joint tenancy agreement to a Tenancy in Common.
As Joint Tenancy and Tenancy In Common and other aspects of this law can be pretty complicated, I recommend contacting a lawyer experienced in this type of real estate law to help you with your legal needs.
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