Question

Give an account of concurrent ownership in a​ multiple-dwelling building.

Answer 1

Concurrent Ownership

Concurrent ownership refers to a property that can be owned by more than one person at a given time. There are several forms of concurrent ownership of property. These include the main four known as tenancy in common, tenancy in entirety, joint tenancy and community property.

Tenancy in common

Tenancy in common is a form of co-ownership in which two or more persons are each entitled to possession of the same real property. Unlike a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship, there is no right to survivorship in a tenancy in common. A tenant in common may also have an unequal share of the common property. For example, if there are two tenants in common, one could have a two-thirds share and the other a one-third share of the property. In tenancy in common,if one owner dies, that person's ownership is inheritable. It doesn't automatically pass to the other owners as it would with joint tenancy.

When two or more people own property as tenants in common, all areas of the property are owned equally by the group. The co-tenants may have a different share of ownership interests. Tenancy in common agreements may be created at any time. So, an individual may develop an interest in a property years after the other members have entered into a tenancy-in-common agreement.

Advantage

Even though you may own just 25 percent of a property held as a tenancy in common, you have the right to the entire property. In parts of the country with a high cost of living, tenancy in common can make sense for residential properties. Splitting your share of a house with other people may allow you to live in a dwelling and neighborhood you couldn’t otherwise afford. Unlike joint tenancy, tenants in common can add owners over time, rather than all owners receiving title to the property at the same time.

Community Property

Community property is a concept borrowed from the civil laws of Spain and France and is found in the states that were founded by the Spanish or the French. The community property system creates a form of common ownership of property by the husband and wife similar to that of a partnership. During the marriage, all property individually or jointly acquired by the husband or wife, other than by gift, bequest, devise, or descent, is held by them as community property. Property that is deemed to be community property is owned equally by both husband and wife, and neither can convey the property without the other’s consent.

The law makes assumptions about the status of property acquired during the marriage or partnership, but these assumptions can be overridden if both partners agree. Typically, partners use this document to change the disposition of all property, whether presently owned or later acquired, into community property upon the death of a partner. This allows all property to pass directly to the surviving spouse without going through the time or expense of the probate process. Avoiding probate may be appealing to couples with uncomplicated assets they wish to pass entirely and solely to a surviving spouse. However, there are some disadvantages to a community property agreement.

Joint Tenancy

A joint tenancy is where two or more persons hold an equal interest in the same parcel of land or item of personality. Joint ownership of property is a popular estate planning tool. If a property is held jointly with right of survivorship when the first joint owner dies, the surviving joint owner in the normal course automatically becomes the owner of all of the property.

For a joint tenancy to exist, the following 'unities' must be present:

1. Unity of possession: Each co-owner is entitled to enjoy possession of the whole of the property, not exclusively to himself/herself, but to be enjoyed together with the other joint tenants. o If one co-owner occupies the entire property, the other cannot sue in trespass in the absence of ouster. o No co-owner can exclude the other from occupation of the entire property.

2. Unity of Interest: The interest of each joint tenant must be the same in nature, extent and duration.

3. Unity of Title: All the joint tenants must derive their interest from the same document or the same act of adverse possession.

4. Unity of Time: The interests of all joint tenants must vest at the same point in time. o If the time of vesting is different, a tenancy in common will arise. o Exceptions – conveyance executed to a trustee for beneficiaries, or any disposition in a will.

Tenancy in common differs in several ways from a joint tenancy. In a joint tenancy, tenants obtain equal shares of a property with the same deed at the same time.

One of the primary differences comes with the addition or removal of any member from the agreement. In tenancy in common agreements the change in members does not break the agreement. With a joint tenancy, the agreement is broken if any of the members wish to sell their interest.

For example, if one or more co-tenants wants to buy out the others, the property technically has to be sold and the proceeds distributed equally among owners. Joint tenancy members may also use the legal partition action to separate the property if the holding is large enough to accommodate this separation.

Tenancy in Entirety

Tenancy by the entirety is a type of concurrent estate in real property that occurs when the owners of the property are married. Each spouse has an equal and undivided interest in the property. In essence, each spouse mutually owns the entire estate. In the event that one spouse dies, the full title of the property automatically passes to the surviving spouse. A tenancy by the entirety permits spouses to jointly own property as a single legal entity.

Any conveyance to a husband and wife that preserves the four unities presumptively creates a tenancy by the entirety. However, a conveyance to a husband and wife need not necessarily create a tenancy by the entirety. If the intent of the donor is to create a joint tenancy or a tenancy-in-common between the husband and wife, this intent can override the presumption that such a transfer creates a tenancy by the entirety.

Advantages

1.Owning property as tenants by the entirety ensures the surviving spouse or partner will inherit the property after the first spouse or partner dies, without losing it to other heirs.

2. Upon death of one spouse or partner, the property passes to the surviving spouse or partner immediately, without probate. Avoiding probate is a significant advantage.

3. If you are concerned your spouse or partner may try to transfer or sell the property without your consent, tenants by the entirety may offer some protection, since one tenant cannot transfer an interest in the property without the other's consent.

4. In some states that recognize this form of title, tenants by the entirety may offer protection from certain types of creditor claims.