Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Wyoming

Re: joint tennents with right to survivorship

Number one here is that if the property is in Wyoming. the laws of Wyoming will control what happens; I am a California lawyer and I can't tell you about the finer points of Wyoming law.

However, in California, and in most other states, here's the basic analysis:

1. The quitclaim deed breaks the joint tenancy. You are no longer joint tenants. You no longer have a right of survivorship.

2. Since there is no longer a right of survivorship, your father can now bequeath his interest in the house to whomever he pleases. You may be the heir, but who knows? His interest could go to a cousin, a girl friend, a charity, or ???.

3. If you didn't sign the loan papers, you aren't liable for the loan.

4. Furthermore, the loan doesn't encumber your half interest. If the bank forecloses, the bank would be your co-owner (or whomever they re-sold to). It's unusual for conservative financial institutions to lend on partial interests in real property, but it does happen, especially where they know the borrower well and there is sufficient equity in the property.

5. Co-owners who are unhappy with the co-ownership can ask a court to order a division by lot-split or by sale and an equitable, court-determined split of the net proceeds after pay-off of liens. This is called a partition suit.

6. What your father did is legal unless there was a contract between you in which he promised not to do this. If there were such a contract, his actions could be a breach of contract.

7. Modifying the above statement slightly, there are some cases pointing to a fiduciary duty between co-owners of property. The duty is generally one to avoid undermining the legitimate interests of the cotenant. I doubt that what your father has done breaches this duty because it appars to be within the rights of a cotenant, but Wyoming law may be tougher on this than California's, but that's a long shot.