National Ownership

Question 1

Tenancy in severality

Answer 1

a single party owns the fee or life estate, the ownership is a tenancy in severalty. Synonyms are sole ownership, ownership in severalty, and estate in severalty. The root of this word is “SEVER,” meaning to “cut off” everyone else’s interests.

Question 2

Tenancy in common

Answer 2

also known as the estate in common, is the most common form of co-ownership when the owners are not married. The defining characteristics are:

Two or more owners - Any number of people may be co-tenants in a single property.
Identical rights - Co-tenants share an indivisible interest in the estate, i.e., all have equal rights to possess and use the property subject to the rights of the other co-tenants. No co-tenant may claim to own any physical portion of the property exclusively. They share what is called undivided possession, or unity of possession.
Interests individually owned - All tenants in common have distinct and separable ownership of their respective interests. Co-tenants may sell, encumber, or transfer their interests without obstruction or consent from the other owners. (A co-tenant may not, however, encumber the entire property.)

Question 3

Co owner

Answer 3

If more than one person, or a legal entity such as a corporation, owns an estate in land, the estate is held in some form of co-ownership. Co-owners are also called co-tenants.

There are three main forms of co-ownership:

Tenants in Common
Joint Tenancy
Tenancy By the Entireties

Question 4

Joint Tenancy

Answer 4

In a joint tenancy, two or more persons collectively own a property as if they were a single person. Rights and interests are indivisible and equal: each has a shared interest in the whole property, which cannot be divided.
Features;
Unity of ownership– Whereas tenants in common hold separate title to their individual interests, joint tenants together hold a single title to the property.
Equal ownership– Joint tenants own equal shares in the property, without exception. If there are four co-tenants, each owns 25% of the property. If there are ten co-tenants, each owns 10%.

Question 5

Creation of joint tenancy

Answer 5

The four unities. Created at the same time

Unity of time – all parties must acquire the joint interest at the same time
Unity of title – all parties must acquire the property in the same deed of conveyance
Unity of interest – all parties must receive equal undivided interests
Unity of possession – all parties must receive the same rights of possession

Question 6

Who decides how title to real estate will be held?

Answer 6

The grantee or buyer decides. The seller decides the type of estate transferred.

Question 7

What are the primary differ

Answer 7

The primary difference is the number of owners—one vs. two or more. Secondarily, the treatment of the estate on the death of an owner. In a severalty, the estate passes to heirs by probate. In a co-ownership, the estate may pass to heirs (tenancy in common) or to surviving co-owners (joint tenancy, tenancy by the entireties, tenancy in partnership) or to a combination (community property).

Question 8

What are the primary differences between tenancy in common and joint tenancy?

Answer 8

Title– only one title in a joint tenancy, multiple titles in tenancy in common; ownership share– equal shares in joint tenancy, electable in tenancy in common; transferability– tenant in common may sell, encumber, etc., his or her share, but joint tenant’s interest becomes a tenancy in common interest if sold; survivorship– joint tenant’s interest goes to other joint tenants on death, but tenant in common’s interest goes to heirs; creation– joint tenancy requires the four unities, otherwise a tenancy in common results.