Tenants In Common Shares Property Ownership

Two or more people who wish to own real property together have several legal options. One of these options is an arrangement known as Tenants in Common

With a Tenants in Common arrangement, all owners shared equally in the real property, no matter how much money each may have invested in the sale. Property ownership is not proportioned, as in the sale of business stock, for instance.

Also known as "tenancy in common, " a Tenants in Common property title conveys to each owner the right to sell or mortgage his or her share. This right of disposal of the property adheres to the tenancy unless the owners sign a common agreement to restrict the transfer of the property in any form.

One major advantage to a Tenants in Common ownership comes in the form of inheritance rights. Tenants in Common have the right to will their shares in the property to their respective heirs. Unlike many joint ownership arrangements, Tenants in Common typically doesn't grant what's known as the joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, meaning that if one co-owner dies, the remain co-owner or co-owners take over the deceased's share of the property.

Tenants in Common works basically like this: Fred and Frank are Tenants in Common of the commercial building that houses the family jewelry business. Fred dies, and his will specifies that his sons, Ted and Tom, inherit his share of the real property. This means that Frank is now co-owner of the commercial building along with his two nephews, who gain equal shares of ownership.

If Frank decided wanted to change that ownership arrangement, he could petition to terminate the Tenants in Common agreement, a legal act known as "destruction" of the ownership. In this case, Frank's action would force a sale of the commercial building, with the income from the sale divided equally among Frank, Ted and Tom.