Common Ways to Hold Title Include the Following:
Individual Ownership
If you’re a single person, you may hold title to your property as an individual or be the beneficiary of a trust that holds title to the property.
Joint Tenancy
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship means that the joint tenants each own what is called an “undivided” interest in the property. The joint tenants must acquire their interest in the property with the four “unities” of title: time, title, interest, and possession. If two or more persons attempt to take title without satisfying the requirement of the four unities of title, the result is that the purchasers typically take title as tenants in common. If either you or your joint tenant passes away, the deceased person’s share in the property is immediately transferred to the surviving joint tenant(s), typically without the need for probate. Some states do not allow joint tenancy with right of survivorship.
Tenancy in Common
Tenancy in common allows each party to own a percentage of the property separately, with the ability to sell, encumber, or bequeath in a will their portion of the property as they see fit. For example, you may own an undivided 50 percent interest and your spouse, sibling, friend, or partner may own the other undivided 50 percent interest. Even though the respective interests are called “undivided”, each tenant in common is entitled to possess and control the entire property (unless the parties agree otherwise). Control of the property by each tenant in common cannot be restricted to just the 50% each tenant in common owns (absent owner agreement). There is no limit to how many tenants in common there can be, and the undivided percentage of ownership can be whatever the tenants in common decide. Tenancy in common is available to married couples or unmarried partners.
Tenancy by the Entirety
Tenancy by the entirety is similar to joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, but is typically reserved for married couples. Both spouses in a marriage must agree to the title arrangement before the property is subject to one spouse’s creditors. Neither spouse on his or her own may do anything that would create a claim or lien on the marital property, and as long as the couple is married and use the home as their primary residence, the interest of the couple is protected. If one spouse is sued, creditors would typically be required to wait until the marriage is severed, the other spouse consents to the claim, or the property is sold, to satisfy any judgment against the marital home taken with tenancy by the entirety. Upon the death of one spouse, the deceased spouse’s share in the property is immediately transferred to the surviving spouse without the need for probate.