Legal terminology for co-owners of real estate is either co-tenants or joint tenants, with the latter phrase signifying a right of survivorship.
In an Australian case,[1] the High Court said that the costs of repairing by one co-owner must be taken into account on the partition or final distribution (i.e. sale) of the property.
By default, all co-owners own equal shares, but their interests may differ in size.
[3] This form of ownership is most common where the co-owners are not married or have contributed different amounts to the purchase of the property.
[2] Where any party to a tenancy in common wishes to terminate (usually termed "destroy") the joint interest, he or she may obtain a partition of the property.
If the parties are unable to agree to a partition, any or all of them may seek the ruling of a court to determine how the land should be divided – physical division between the joint owners (partition in kind), leaving each with ownership of a portion of the property representing their share.
Courts may also order a partition by sale in which the property is sold and the proceeds are distributed to the owners.
Where local law does not permit physical division, the court must order a partition by sale.
The only exception to this general rule is where the co-owners have agreed, either expressly or impliedly, to waive the right of partition.
The deceased owner's interest in the property simply evaporates and cannot be inherited by his or her heirs.
As a lien is not enough to terminate a joint tenancy, if the debtor dies before the creditor sues, the creditor is left with no claim against the property, as the debtor's interest in the property evaporates and automatically vests in the other surviving co-owners.
A petition to partition is a legal right, so usually there is no way to stop such an action.
When a court grants a partition action for a joint tenants with rights of survivorship deed, the property is either physically broken into parts and each owner is given a part of equal value OR the property is sold and the proceeds are distributed equally between the co-owners regardless of contribution to purchase price.
No credits would be issued to any tenant who may have made a superior contribution toward purchase price.
No credit would be given for excess contribution to purchase price, as joint tenancy with rights of survivorship deeds are taken in equal shares as a matter of law.
[7] It is based on an old English common law view that a married couple is one legal person for the purpose of owning property.
[8][9] (In the State of Hawaii, the option of ownership in an tenancy by the entirety is also available to domestic partners in a registered "Reciprocal Beneficiary Relationship"; Vermont's Civil Union statute qualifies parties to a civil union for tenancy by the entirety.
)[10] Like a Joint Tenancy with Rights of Survivorship, the tenancy by the entirety also encompasses a right of survivorship, so if one spouse dies, the entire interest in the property is said to "ripen" in the survivor so that sole control of the property ripens, or passes in the ordinary sense, to the surviving spouse without going through probate.
[15] In New York State cooperatives, where ownership by tenancy by the entirety has been an option for married couples since 1995, upon the couple divorcing either: a) if one spouse requests that their shares of stock in the co-op be reflected as being not in their name and solely in the name of the other spouse, that will automatically and immediately take effect by law and must be so reflected by the registrar and transfer agent of the corporation; or b) if neither spouse makes such a request, then divorce will automatically convert this type of ownership in co-op shares into a joint tenancy.
In many states, tenancy by the entireties is recognized as a valid form of ownership for bank accounts and financial assets.