Joint tenancy is the ownership of a piece of property by two or more people. Each owner has equal rights to the use of the property during their lives. At the death of each owner, the property goes to the survivors. The last survivor becomes the sole and exclusive owner of the property, with the absolute right to sell or give it to anyone. Joint tenancies were once limited to real estate, but today they may be created in personal property as well. For example, two or more people might own a painting as joint tenants with the right of survivorship.
The right of survivorship distinguishes a joint tenancy from the ordinary tenancy in common. Under a tenancy in common, each tenant’s share passes to his or her successors at the death of the tenant. While living, a joint tenant can convey the share in the joint-tenancy property to some other person. However, this act severs the joint tenancy. The ownership then becomes an ordinary tenancy in common. In the United States, a few states do not recognize the joint tenancy of real estate.
