co-ownership / tenancy

Question 1

When two or more single individuals or couples acquire title to real estate and the form of ownership is not indicated, the new owners are usually determined to have acquired title as

Answer 1

tenants in common

Question 2

The four requirements or unities are met when the right to possession of a property is acquired by all of the joint owners by means of a single instrument that conveys an equal, undivided interest to all of them, stipulating that they are to be joint owners with ___?

Answer 2

the right of survivorship.

Question 3

___ is a special form of co-ownership used in some states that allows a spouse to inherit the other spouse’s ownership interest upon death.

Answer 3

Tenancy by the entirety

Question 4

Formation of a TIC requires use of an attorney to

Answer 4

clarify the terms of ownership.

Question 5

If the court determines that the property cannot be divided physically into separate parcels without destroying its value, the court will

Answer 5

order the real estate sold.

The proceeds of the sale will then be divided among the co-owners according to their fractional interests.

Question 6

Spouses who are tenants by the entirety, During their lives, can convey title only by

Answer 6

a deed signed by both parties.

One party cannot convey a one-half interest, and generally they have no right to partition or divide the property.

Question 7

all joint tenants acquire their interests at the same time.

Answer 7

Unity of time

Question 8

all joint tenants hold an undivided right to possession.

Answer 8

Unity of possession

Question 9

Because the co-owners own separate interests, they can sell, convey, mortgage, or transfer their individual interests in the TIC without

Answer 9

the consent of the other co-owners

Question 10

If the joint tenancy had more than two owners to begin with, and one of them conveys that interest, there will still be a joint tenancy, but only as to the interests held by the remaining joint tenants; the new owner is __

Answer 10

a tenant in common.

Question 11

all joint tenants hold an equal ownership interest.

Answer 11

Unity of interest

Question 12

Unless prohibited by state law, joint tenants are free to convey their individual interest in the jointly held property, but doing so __

Answer 12

destroys the unities of time and title as to that interest

Question 13

If there are only two joint tenants, the death of one of the owners __

Answer 13

terminates the joint tenancy

Question 14

all joint tenants acquire their interests by the same document.

Answer 14

Unity of title

Question 15

The distinguishing feature of a joint tenancy is the

Answer 15

the right of survivorship.

Question 16

In a __, each tenant holds an undivided interest in the property.

Answer 16

tenancy in common (TIC)

Question 17

Upon the death of a joint tenant, the deceased’s interest transfers directly to

Answer 17

the surviving joint tenant or tenants.

(No formal legal action is required, although the death certificate of the deceased owner should be made part of the public record and a copy retained by the surviving owner(s).)

Question 18

When one co-owner dies, the tenant’s undivided interest passes according to the decedent’s will, __

Answer 18

to the heirs identified by statute if there is no will, or by the terms of the decedent’s living trust, if one was established prior to death.

Question 19

? is a legal way to dissolve the relationship between co-owners of real estate when the parties do not voluntarily agree to its termination

Answer 19

Partition

Question 20

True or false: Each of the shares in a tenancy in common can also be held by a couple, whether married or in a civil union.

Answer 20

True

Question 21

A share owned by a married couple in a TIC can be transferred only with ___

Answer 21

the agreement of both parties.

Question 22

the last survivor in a joint tenancy takes title in severalty and has all the rights of sole ownership, including the right to

Answer 22

pass the property to any heirs.

Question 23

In a TIC, It is the __, not the property, that is divided.

Answer 23

ownership interest

Question 24

Spouses who are tenants by the entirety have the right of

Answer 24

survivorship

Question 25

In a TIC, The co-owners have __ , meaning that each owner is entitled to possession and use of the entire property, even though each holds only a fractional ownership interest

Answer 25

unity of possession

Question 26

Can a joint tenancy be created by law?

Answer 26

No

It cannot be implied or created by operation of law.

Question 27

A ___ can be created only by the intentional act of conveying a deed or giving the property by will or living trust.

Answer 27

joint tenancy

Question 28

If there are three or more joint tenants, at each successive joint tenant’s death, ___

Answer 28

the surviving owners acquire the deceased’s interest

Question 29

The deed creating a tenancy in common may or may not state the fractional interest held by each co-owner. If no fractions are stated, the tenants are presumed to hold __

Answer 29

equal shares;

for example, if five people hold title, each owns an undivided one-fifth interest.

Question 30

A joint tenancy is destroyed when

Answer 30

any one of the four unities of joint tenancy is terminated

Question 31

In a TIC, No individual tenant may

Answer 31

transfer the ownership of the entire property

Question 32

To create a joint tenancy, four elements or unities are needed, which can be remembered as

Answer 32

PITT: possession, interest, time, and title.

Question 33

In a tenancy by the entirety, each spouse has an __

Answer 33

equal, undivided interest in the property

Question 34

In a TIC If there are two co-owners of a property and no other division is specified in the deed conveying the property, each owns ___

Answer 34

a one-half interest