The joint tenancy of any other co-owners, however, remains unaffected.
In Illinois, the joint tenancy relationship can be dissolved at any time upon the conveyance of a joint tenants interest to himself or any other person regardless of the consent of the co-owners. In fact, even if a deceased owner’s will designates that the property pass to some other individual, that request will not be satisfied.Ī joint tenancy may only be created expressly by a deed. The property will pass to the surviving owners outside of the probate process. Thus, the remaining owners are assured no new persons will have title to their land. Upon the death of one of the owners, any remaining owners will take the rights of the deceased owner. The main difference from tenancy in common is that there is a unity of ownership. These “four unities” are time (all tenants must take title at the same time), title (all tenants must take title by the same document), interest (all tenants must have an equal interest), and possession (all tenants have an undivided possession right).Īs in tenancy in common, all owners have an undivided interest in the whole property and can use the entire property. This form of ownership may be attained by satisfying the legal requirements of the “four unities” of ownership. Land held as “tenants in common” may also be “partitioned” or encumbered by creditors.Īnother form of title is as “joint tenants with right of survivorship”. When one of the owner’s dies, that share of land is transferred by the owner’s will or by the intestacy statute and the owner’s heirs or legatees will become the new owners of that share. Tenants in common owners each hold separate ownership interests which can be sold, conveyed or transferred without the consent of the other owners. That is, although they may own unequal share of property, the owners may still each use the entire property. Owners of property as tenants in common own an undivided fractional interest in property.
In Illinois, if no manner of title is stated, co-ownership is presumed to be as tenants in common. The most basic form of title is as “tenants in common”.
Each manner of holding title will result in different circumstances of transfer upon the death of an owner and will also determine the rights and abilities of outside creditors to attach the property. In most instances, the owners may choose the manner in which they hold title and their decision may be changed in the future if the owners agree to such a change and the change does not violate any other laws. When more than one person, such as a husband and wife or business partners, owns title to a piece of real property, the law of the State of Illinois allows for title to be held between the owners in three ways: as tenants in common, as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, or as tenants by the entirety.
In co-ownership situations, the property owners will have to decide how to “take” title to their land. If one person holds title to land, there are few, if any decisions to be made about holding title.