Legal Definitions - joint ownership

Joint ownership refers to the situation where two or more people own a property together. There are four main types of joint ownership:

• Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship
• Tenancy by the entirety
• Tenancy in common
• Community property

For example, John and Jane are married and they own a house together. They have joint ownership of the property as tenants by the entirety. If one of them passes away, the other automatically becomes the sole owner of the property.

Another example is two friends, Tom and Jerry, who decide to buy a vacation home together. They have joint ownership of the property as tenants in common. If one of them wants to sell their share, they can do so without the other's permission.

These examples illustrate how joint ownership can work in different situations and how the type of joint ownership can affect the rights and responsibilities of the owners.