Legal Definitions - coparcener

Definition: A coparcener is a person who inherits an estate jointly with others and holds it as a single estate. They become a concurrent owner as a result of descent. They are also known as parceners or coparticeps.

For example, if a man dies and leaves his property to his two daughters, they become coparceners. They both have equal rights to the property and hold it as a single estate. If one of the daughters dies, her share of the property will pass to her heirs or devisee, not to the surviving daughter. However, the unity of possession continues.

Coparceners have unity of title, interest, and possession, like joint tenants. But their estate is not subject to the doctrine of survivorship, like tenants in common. This means that if one of the coparceners dies, their share of the property does not automatically pass to the surviving coparceners. Instead, it passes separately to their heirs or devisee.