ABA Family Legal Guide

Home Ownership

Property Rights and Restrictions

Ownership Options

How do you stipulate that you are joint tenants?

The deed must specify that the property is held in a joint tenancy arrangement. The usual language for this is "Mary Smith and Amy Smith, as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common." That way, if there is a question--say from Mary Smith's children, who think they should inherit her half interest in the property--the intent of the owners will be clear.

It's especially important to specify joint tenancy on the deed. Otherwise the law assumes that the owners are tenants in common (except in some states, where their ownership constitutes tenancy by the entirety if they are married to each other, as explained below).