Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: tenants in common

Right of survivorship in the co-tenant.

Re: tenants in common

A couple other comments:

Both are ways for two or more persons to share title to the same property.

Both give all co-owners a right of possession in the entire property. They are a sort of involuntary roommate of one another. This set of rights can be modified by contract to give one or the other more exclusive rights of occupancy, management, etc.

Tenants in common can have any split in ownership percentage, e.g. 50-50, 1/3-2/3, or if there are five tenants in common the percentages can be 60-15-10-10-5, for excample.

Joint tenants always have equal legal interests; e.g., if there are two, it is always 50-50; if there are five, it is always 20% each.

Tenants in common can buy each other out, sell to strangers, etc, without disturbing the relationship of the other tenants in common.

Joint tenancies, however, are fragile; almost any change in the equation will terminate the joint tenancy and turn it into a tenancy in common (e.g., when a joint tenant sells to another).

Tenancies in common are generally preferred for strangers or business deals. Joint tenancies are often used to pass property between generations by avoiding probate, but this usually is an inferior planning strategy compared with using a living trust because receiving property by inheritance (trust or will) has very substantial tax advantages.

Re: tenants in common

I've tried to give a brief description of both tenancies...

Joint Tenancy - each tenant owns an undivided whole of the property. When one tenant dies the survivor(s) take the deceased's share. If one tenant severs (by transferring or selling) it becomes a Tenancy in Common.

Tenants in Common - each tenant has a separate undivided interest in the whole property. Each party's interest is descendible (can leave to heirs) and can be conveyed (transferred, sold, etc.) to others.

In California, the presumption is that property is Tenants in Common unless specifically stated as �joint tenants with rights of survivorship and not as tenants in common�