Two or more people may simultaneously own the
same property, for instance a camp on the lake. But what
happens to a person’s share of co-owned property when
they die? There are two alternatives: (1) the deceased
person’s share can remain part of their estate and pass
to their heirs or beneficiaries, or (2) the share can pass to
the surviving co-owners of the property. Who decides
which course is followed? That is determined when the
property is purchased by how the property is titled. There
are two principal forms of title for co-owned property:
“tenancy in common” and “joint tenancy.” There’s also a
variant of joint tenancy called “tenancy by the entirety.”
Each of these ownership forms is reviewed in this NEET
Notes, with a description of the implications each form of
ownership has for your estate plan.
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