Here Henry explains the differences between Tenants in Common and Joint Tenancy in ways that you can hold title for a property…
Hi this is Henry at Re/Max Properties of the Summit, The Barr Team here at Frisco Colorado. Rachel just asked me a quick question about “What is Joint Tenancy and What is Tenants in Common?” The quick and easy answer normally is Tenants in common is used between partners or a partnership where you own an undivided, usually half interest in a property. it can be an undivided 1/3 interest, it can be an undivided 1/4, but it’s an undivided interest and used as Tenants in Common, which are unrelated partners. Joint Tenancy though is usually used by married couples, it’s basically the right of survivorship, should one spouse die the whole tenancy reverts over to the other owner, so it’s usually used in marriage situations and that would be the most normal use of Joint Tenancy. It can be used with other family members, but is usually used within a marriage situation. so hopefully that answers your questions but for more detailed answers you really should get legal or tax advice as there are some ramifications that may affect it. The general consensus is usually that Joint Tenancy is within a marriage and Tenants in Common is usually within unrelated parties.
Another point that Henry did not touch on is that when title is held as Joint Tenancy, should something happen to one of the homeowners the other homeowner (or joint tenant) receives the property. Whereas in a Tenants in Common situation, should one of the owners pass away, the property will be passed to their heirs or whomever they have set up in their will, rather than to the other owner.