Real Property Flashcards
Gina and Jo are married. They are purchasing their first house together.
At the closing, the seller’s attorney hands them a deed that states that the property passes “to Gina and Jo as tenants in common.” They live in a state that presumes that a conveyance to married partners creates a tenancy by the entirety.
How will Gina and Jo co-own the house?
A. As tenants by the entirety.
B. As joint tenants.
C. As tenants in common.
Gina and Jo will hold the house together as tenants in common. A conveyance to married partners typically creates a tenancy by the entirety unless the language of the deed clearly indicates otherwise.
A chef and a baker bought a farm together and took title as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
A few years later, the chef and the baker fell in love and got married.
Several years after that, the chef decided to leave the food industry and pursue writing instead. Though the chef and the baker remained married, the chef sold her share in the farm to an investor.
Who owns the farm after the chef’s conveyance, and how do they hold their interest(s)?
A. The baker holds the entire estate.
B. The investor and the baker hold as joint tenants.
C. The investor holds the entire interest.
D. The chef and the baker hold as joint tenants.
E. The investor and the baker hold as tenants in common.
E. Initially, the check and the baker held the farm as joint tenants. Their subsequent marriage has no effect on the status of their concurrent estate.
*A tenancy by the entirety is created by a CONVEYANCE to married partners, and the chef and baker were not married at the time of the conveyance.
What is the default form of concurrent ownership?
The default form of concurrent ownership is a tenancy in common, which is inheritable with no right of survivorship. Each tenant may own a different fractional share, and they can unilaterally sell, mortgage, lease, or otherwise transfer their interest without disrupting the shares of other co-tenants.
How is a joint tenancy created?
A joint tenancy can only be created if four requirements, known as the four unities, are met. The conveyance must have occurred at the same time, in the same legal instrument, granting equal ownership interests, with a right to possess the entire property.
If all four of these unities are satisfied, then a joint tenancy is formed and the co-tenants have a right of survivorship that can be severed if one tenant unilaterally sells their share of the property.
A tenancy by the entirety must satisfy a 5th unity, what is it?
Lastly, a tenancy by the entirety operates very similar to a joint tenancy; however, the tenants must satisfy a fifth unity, which requires that they be married to one another. The co-tenants are seen as one entity and cannot make any unilateral decisions to sell, mortgage, lease, or otherwise transfer the property.
