Many people mistakenly confuse joint tenancy and tenancy in common with California. They are also known as joint interest, or interest in common with respect to real property. A tenancy-in-common agreement can be a valuable tool for estate planning.
These are the key differences between joint and common interest. This will help you decide if tenancy-in-common is the best type of coownership for your particular situation.
What is Tenancy In Common under California law?
- SS683 describes the caveats and definitions of tenancy-in-common. This is the California state code property laws. A form of property coownership, tenancy in common, is when a property is not divided equally. It is most common in cases where the co-owners are not related. A joint tenancy agreement, on the other hand, gives equal shares to both parties. It is more common for domestic partners and married couples to be referred to as community property.
- Joint tenants and tenants may have other differences. Joint tenancy allows co-owners to be named on the same deed. If additional owners are added to the original deed, it becomes a common tenancy even though they have equal interests.
- Owner A is the sole owner of the property. Owner A marries Owner B and they are added to the deed to the home. Even though both owners have equal shares, the deed becomes a tenancy-in-common. Owner B was also named in a later recorded deed.
Joint tenants have the same legal rights as tenants in common to the property they share. All owners are entitled to the property, unless there is an agreement stating otherwise. Each owner receives a share of the income from the property, proportional to their interest in the realty.
Common tenants can transfer their interest in tenancy in common to anyone at any time. This includes any transfer through probate.
Tenancy under Common & Probate Law
The biggest difference between tenancy in common and California state law considers community property real estate acquired during marriage or domestic partnership as a joint tenancy arrangement.
Each owner has an equal share of the property and is named on the same deed. Each co-owner can transfer their shares to their heirs or to others by changing the community property to a tenancy common through divorce proceedings.
Summarized from an article by Stone & Sallus LLP.
