By Chesley Payne
There is a great deal of confusion regarding a person’s ownership interest in real property. Most people understand when they own a property. The confusion arises as to what kind of ownership interest they hold. Below is a listing of common types of property ownership.
The first type of property ownership is a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship. This is usually the type of ownership a husband and wife use when they own their personal residence. This type of ownership interest means that if one of the owners passes away the other owner receives the deceased owner’s interest. This type of interest is useful to avoid probate issues regarding a personal residence.
The second type of ownership interest is a tenancy in common. This type of ownership interest is held when multiple persons own a property. The result of this interest means that if one of the owners passes away, that owner’s interest goes to his heirs instead of the other owners. If you don’t state in your deed the type of interest you hold, this is usually the default interest.
People can also own property through a life estate. A life estate is when you own a property during your lifetime. However, after your death, the property usually passes to another person known as a remainderman. Therefore, if you are the life tenant, you have no ability to change the remainderman unless the remainderman agrees to the change.
As you can see, this small sampling of ownership interests is meant to provide a glimpse of the intricacies of owning property and point out the importance of retaining an attorney if you deal with real property issues. Always seek the advice of counsel if you wish to change your real property ownership.