Owning property as Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship is easy, common, and often disastrous.  Sadly, children – both minor and adult – are often disinherited.

While there are several forms of joint ownership, the one most people use (and the one considered in this discussion) is called “Joint Ownership with Right of Survivorship.” When one owner dies, the jointly owned asset automatically, by operation of law, transfers to the surviving owner.  

• Joint ownership is a very common way for married people to own their assets. 

• Joint ownership is also commonly used by aging parents and their adult children.

Joint Ownership Just Postpones Probate:

In most cases, joint ownership merely postpones probate; it doesn’t totally avoid it.  If the surviving owner does not add a new joint owner (or place the asset in trust) before she dies, the asset will have to go through probate before it can go to the heirs.  Or, if the owners die at the same time, probate is required immediately.

Joint Ownership Can Cause You to Unintentionally Disinherit Your Beloved Children:

Surprising to most parents, assets titled as “Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship” are NOT controlled by their Will or Trust.  In fact, if you are the first owner to die, you can’t control what happens to that asset.  

• If you add a spouse who is not the parent of all of your children as a joint owner, you will disinherit your children from a previous relationship.

• If you add one child as a joint owner, you will disinherit your other children.

The transfer of ownership takes place immediately upon your death. Even if your Will or Trust directs that you want someone in particular to receive your share of a jointly owned asset, it will still go to the surviving owner.  The surviving owner can then do whatever he or she wants with the entire asset.

Here’s an example:

After Robert died, Joan owned their vacation home outright. She remarried a few years later, and she added her new spouse’s name to the title. When Joan died, her children were shocked to learn that the new husband now owned the property, even though their father had always promised it would stay in the family and go to the three of them.  

Other Risks of Joint Ownership:

1. While it’s easy to add a co-owner’s name to a title, taking someone’s name off a title can be difficult. If the person does not agree, you could end up in court.

2. Your assets are exposed to the other owner’s debt and obligations. For example, if you add your adult son on the title of your home and he is successfully sued, you could be forced to sell your home.

3. There could be serious gift and/or income tax consequences.

4. If you add a minor as a joint owner, the only way to sell or refinance the asset is through a court guardianship.

5. If you need to sell or refinance and your co-owner is incapacitated and unable to conduct business, you’ll have to ask the court to appoint someone to sign for your co-owner (even if that co-owner is your spouse). Once the court gets involved, it usually stays involved to protect the incapacitated owner’s interest until the incapacity ends or the person dies.

Actions to Consider:

1. To avoid both inconvenience and tragedy, call our office immediately to set up an appointment and have your asset ownership reviewed.

2. We will review your asset ownership and explain what will happen to your assets if you become disabled and when you die.

3. We will show you how to own your assets to best ensure your estate plan works, meaning it does what you think it’s going to do.

Joint ownership with a sibling, life partner, business partner, child, spouse, or anyone else, puts your assets and your children’s inheritance at risk.  It may cause significant and unnecessary taxes and cause your estate plan to fail.  To avoid both inconvenience and tragedy, you are invited to call our office right now.

If you are interested in ensuring that your family is cared for after you have passed away, please call our office at 415-625-0773 to schedule your free estate planning consultation with San Francisco’s premiere estate planning attorney, Matthew J. Tuller.