Rights of Survivorship

Rights of Survivorship

In a situation where two or more persons jointly own property, the right of the other owner(s) to continue to own the property when one owner dies. In other words, a jointly-owned property with right of survivorship does not become part of a decedent's estate; rather, his/her co-owner(s) continue to own the property. Couples may have rights of survivorship on a jointly-owned house, for example. It may also be used in a joint business venture: if two persons own an apartment complex and one of them dies, the whole of the complex belongs to the co-owner and not the decedent's heirs. It is important to note, however, that the decedent's liabilities may remain attached to this property and may be used to pay off creditors, even if the creditor had nothing to do with the property in question. See also: Tenants in common.

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Rights of survivorship. If two or more people own property jointly with rights of survivorship and one of the owners should die, the deceased owner's share of the property automatically passes to the surviving owners.

This arrangement for joint ownership is in contrast to the arrangement known as tenants-in-common, in which a deceased owner's share becomes part of his or her estate and can be sold or distributed to heirs according to the terms of his or her will.

Couples who own their own home jointly often opt for right of survivorship to allow the surviving partner to enjoy full ownership rights to their home.