• admin
• September 30, 2022
• Expert advice

Co-Ownership of Real Estate

When there is more than one owner on a deed, the owners have co-ownership of the title. There are three categories of co-ownership.

The first category is joint tenants with the right of survivorship. If one owner dies, the survivor or survivors remain undivided right in the property without the need to do surrogate court procedure or subject to estate tax of the deceased owner. Usually close family members such as parents and children may want to select this category of co-ownership.

The second category is tenants by the entirety. It is a marital estate akin to a joint ownership between husband and wife and carries a right of survivorship, which operates in the same manner as the right of survivorship incident to a joint tenancy.

The third category is tenants in common. Each owner has a distinct, proportionate, undivided interest in the property but the owner does not have right of survivorship to each other.