What Is Joint Ownership Of Property?
by Frank Rodriguez

Joint ownership, in which two or more people are listed as co-owners of real property, can often simplify the transfer of assets.

Say for instance that a husband and wife are joint owners of their home. The husband dies, requiring that the family finances be restructured. Since the wife is already listed as an owner of the home, she becomes the sole owner of the house and able to dispose of it as necessary.

Furthermore since she's already an owner of record, no additional taxes are assessed against the transfer of the property title into her name along.

Joint Ownership of real property also simplifies asset division in cases of divorce or the dissolution of a business partnership. Since anything owned jointly can be split, the usual method is for one person to buy the share of the property owned by the other person, or other people.

However, in disputed cases, it can be very hard for one joint owner to dispute rights to property when it is owned jointly. In such situations, the joint owners sometimes can trade ownership status for other properties, such as stocks, bonds or other assets. If nothing else, Joint Ownership reduces arguments about which partner is entitled to what property. There may be some implications if you live in a community property state. You can check to see if the state in which you reside is a community property state.

Joint Ownership isn't limited to married couples. Parents and children can own property jointly, as can gay and lesbian couples or business partners. Joint Ownership arrangements can eliminate the need for probate in order for one of the partners to continue to have access to the property, which is especially important in residency situations.

Parent-child Joint Ownership of real property isn't without its pitfalls. For instance, if the child suffers bankruptcy, owes back taxes or has his or her assets garnished for medical expenses, alimony or child support, it's possible that the parent could lose his or her property (often the parent's primary residence). If there is more than one child in the family, but the Joint Ownership exists only between a parent and one sibling, other children may never receive the assets their parent intended for them. That's because Joint Ownership includes the right of survivorship, meaning that if one owner dies, the remaining co-owner or co-owners immediately gains sole control of the property.

Joint Ownership of property often requires several drafts of legal documents to avoid these and other traps.

Frank Rodriguez may be contacted at