MBE Fast Fact: Joint Tenancies

This is a quick one to remember. A joint tenancy cannot be devised by will. So, A and B own property as joint tenants. In A's will, A devises his interest in that property to C.

A dies.

At this point B owns the property in its entirety as the property passed to B because of B's right of survivorship inherint in all joint tenancies. A does not share the property with C as tenants in common.

But, assume that, rather than leaving the property to C in A's will, A had taken out a mortgage on the property (in a title theory state), and C was the mortgagee, or A had conveyed the property to C within A's lifetime. A joint tenant can do both, and in those situations, B and C would share the property as tenants in common.