Understanding Joint Ownership of PropertyWhere Will it Go When You Die?
There are three basic ways that you can own property: in your individual name, in joint names with others, and through contract rights. Whether or not a particular asset that you own at the time of your death will need to be probated will depend entirely upon how it’s titled. Joint Ownership Joint ownership comes in three forms: with rights of survivorship, as community property, and as tenants in common. Joint Tenancy With Rights of Survivorship Joint tenants with rights of survivorship, frequently abbreviated on account statements as “JTWROS,” means that if there are two or more owners on the asset and one owner dies, then the surviving owner or owners will continue to own the asset and the estate and heirs at law of the deceased owner will receive absolutely nothing. All that the surviving owners will need to do to remove the deceased owner’s name from the asset is to show a death certificate or record a new deed which indicates that one of the joint tenants has died. Tenancy by the
