Joint Tenancy
Joint tenancy is a form of co-ownership with right of survivorship. Learn how it differs from tenancy in common and its estate-planning implications.
Definition
Joint tenancy is a form of property co‑ownership in which two or more people hold equal shares with the right of survivorship. When one joint tenant dies, their interest automatically passes to the surviving joint tenants, bypassing probate. To create a joint tenancy, the four unities must be present: time (owners acquire interest at the same time), title (same deed), interest (equal shares), and possession (equal rights to use the property). Joint tenancy is often used by spouses or family members for estate‑planning purposes but may not be suitable for unrelated partners because it restricts how ownership interests can be transferred.
Why It Matters
Right of survivorship moves the house to the surviving co-owner instantly, outside probate, and it overrides whatever your will says. Efficient for spouses, hazardous for everyone else: adding an adult child to the deed hands them a present ownership interest, exposes the property to their creditors and their divorce, and can cost your heirs a full step-up in basis. Washington requires the survivorship language to appear expressly in the deed.
Examples
Two sisters own a Vancouver duplex as joint tenants; when one dies, her half passes automatically to the other and the will leaving it to her son does nothing.
A father adds his son to the deed for convenience, the son loses a contract dispute, and the resulting judgment lien attaches to the father's house.
A married couple holding community property with right of survivorship receives a step-up in basis on both halves at the first death, erasing decades of taxable gain.
Tips
Never add a person to a deed to dodge probate without pricing the alternatives first. A transfer on death deed or a community property agreement usually accomplishes the same thing without giving away a present interest.
Read the vesting line on your current deed. "John and Mary Smith, husband and wife" is not joint tenancy, and in Washington survivorship has to be spelled out.
Check the vesting again after any refinance. Title companies occasionally re-vest owners in a form nobody requested, and the recorded deed is what controls when someone dies.
Related Terms
Tenancy in Common (TIC)
Tenancy in common is shared ownership without survivorship rights. Learn how TIC shares can be unequ...
Vesting
Vesting describes how ownership is held on a property title. Learn vesting options like joint tenanc...
Land Contract
A land contract (contract for deed) is seller financing where ownership transfers after full payment...
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