Owning property as Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship is easy, common, and often disastrous. Sadly, children – both minor and adult – are often disinherited.
While there are several forms of joint ownership, the one most people use (and the one considered in this discussion) is called “Joint Ownership with Right of Survivorship.” When one owner dies, the jointly owned asset automatically, by operation of law, transfers to the surviving owner.
- Joint ownership is a very common way for married people to own their assets.
- Joint ownership is also commonly used by aging parents and their adult children.
Joint Ownership Just Postpones Probate
In most cases, joint ownership merely postpones probate; it doesn’t totally avoid it. If the surviving owner does not add a new joint owner (or place the asset in trust) before she dies, the asset will have to go through probate before it can go to the heirs. Or, if the owners die at the same time, probate is required immediately.
Joint Ownership Can Cause You to Unintentionally Disinherit Your Beloved Children
Surprising to most parents, assets titled as “Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship” are NOT controlled by their Will or Trust. In fact, if you are the first owner to die, you can’t control what happens to that asset.
- If you add a spouse who is not the parent of all of your children as a joint owner, you will disinherit your children from a previous relationship.
- If you add one child as a joint owner, you will disinherit your other children.
The transfer of ownership takes place immediately upon your death. Even if your Will or Trust directs that you want someone in particular to receive your share of a jointly owned asset, it will still go to the surviving owner. The surviving owner can then do whatever he or she wants with the entire asset.
Here’s an example:
After Robert died, Joan owned their vacation home outright. She remarried a few years later, and she added her new spouse’s name to the title. When Joan died, her children were shocked to learn that the new husband now owned the property, even though their father had always promised it would stay in the family and go to the three of them.
