Joint Tenancy vs Tenancy in Common

Joint tenancy and tenancy in common refers to how title is held between two or more people who own a piece of property.

In a joint tenancy two or more people own equal and undivided interest in the property. For example, in a joint tenancy two people each would own 50% of the property.

Tenancy in common means each owner owns a share in the property….however, the share can be unequal.  For example, one person can own 60% of the property and the other 40%.  Each owner can sell or mortgage their portion of the property.

One of the main differences between joint tenancy and tenancy in common is what happens when one of the owners dies.

In a joint tenancy, the interest of the deceased owner automatically goes to the surviving owner.  A will is not required for the deceased’s interest to pass to the surviving owner because the surviving owner has the Right of Survivorship in a joint tenancy.

If one of the owners dies in a tenancy in common, their share of the property becomes part of their estate.