Q: I am buying a villa with one of my children. We use it to take turns splitting costs and costs. We want to make sure that if anything happens to me, she doesn’t need to split the house with her siblings. What can you do? – Marjorie
A: If the property is co-owned with someone rather than your spouse, there are two options of ownership. This decision will determine the fate of your property against your death and may affect other rights.
The most common method of joint ownership is known as “common tenants.” This is the default way to own the property along with other owners, with each owner holding its share in full. If one owner dies, their portion goes to the heirs. They occupy co-owners positions.
Conversely, if the property is owned as a “co-tenant of the right to life”, if one owner dies, the remaining owner will retain the ownership and effectively inherit the rights of the deceased owner. Owning property in this way is essential to include the phrase “co-tenant of the right to life” about the conduct.
If those words do not appear in your actions, it means that the property is owned as a common tenant.
A joint tenant has the right to share the property with the selected person. However, if a joint tenant forwards that portion to someone who has not yet been named in the deed, all owners will become a common tenant. This means that the survival function is no longer applicable. This feature can be important if you want to change who gets a share of your property when you die.
It is recommended that you enter into a written “co-ownership agreement” whenever non-married people, including parents and children, own property together. This type of contract lays out each person’s rights and responsibilities and explains what happens if another person wants to sell the property.
Not only does it take time to think about these issues in advance, it helps avoid conflicts, but it also helps to resolve inevitable conflicts and makes it easier to resolve them at a low cost.
Gary M. Singer is a Florida lawyer and is accredited the board as a real estate law expert by Florida Bar. He practices real estate, business litigation and contract law from his office at sunrise. He is the chairman of the Broward County Bar Association’s Real Estate Division and co-hosts the weekly radio show Legal News and Reviews. He frequently consults with a variety of businesses across the country about common real estate issues and trends in Florida. Submit your questions online at sunsentinel.com/askpro or follow us at x @garysingerlaw.
