The joint tenancy deed is one of the best tools to transfer real estate between spouses, partners and heirs. Its principal characteristic is known as the right of survivor.
Holding title in joint tenancy is especially suited for real estate held by a husband and a wife, a father and his sons, brothers, sisters or any combination of relatives, partners or friends.
Each co ? tenant in a joint tenancy, whether there be two, three or more such tenants is regarded by law as constituting a unity with each co ? tenant vested with title to an equal share of the entire property.
The joint tenancy deed was frequently used and was quite common in feudal England. Joint tenancy still plays a role in our current legal system and as with much of our current real estate law, this legal concept has been handed down to us from the English common law.
Early English law favored the creation of joint tenancy because of the right of survivor. The right of survivor preserved feudal property holdings until the death of the last survivor. Under early English common law any conveyance or transfer of real estate to two or more persons presumptively created a joint tenancy unless expressly declared otherwise.
Today in most states the common law presumption has been abrogated and by statute most states now require that joint tenancy be created by a writing that expressly declares an intention to create a joint tenancy.
As discussed herein above, when one tenant dies, the entire joint tenancy estate automatically belongs to the surviving tenant or tenants. On the tenant?s death, the survivor continues in the ownership of the entire property which passes by operation of law.
The beauty of this automatic passing of title, is that on death, the interest of the deceased joint tenant is not a part of his or her estate and does not pass to heirs. It passes automatically, by right of survivor, to the other joint tenant or tenants that appear on the deed. Furthermore, no will or trust executed by the deceased joint tenant can affect the joint tenancy. Thus a deceased joint tenant cannot dispose of it by will, and no probate is necessary to transfer the joint tenancy property.
In the situation where only one surviving joint tenant remains, ownership of the property becomes a part of the estate of the surviving joint tenant who can then transfer the property during his or her life time or upon their death however they choose.
The death of a joint tenant is established by recording an affidavit of death that describes the real property along with an attested or certified copy of the death certificate.
These recorded documents are evidence of the death of the deceased joint tenant and perfects title in the survivor without need for a costly court proceeding.
As you can see, the joint tenancy deed and the right of survivorthat goes along with it is a valuable tool in any estate plan because it accomplishes the transfer of property without the necessity of cumbersome, time consuming and costly court proceedings.
Looking to find the best legal advice on the subject of real estate, then visit www.losangelesrealestateattorney.com to find the best advice on real estate for you.
Source: http://illinoissr22online.com/finance/joint-tenancy-its-uses-and-benefits/
f 18 crash virginia tenebrae the lake house petrino arkansas roy williams matt lauer divine mercy chaplet
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.