In a Sale
What This Means When the House Is Being Sold
This is often the fastest possible path to a sale. When one joint tenant dies, their interest passes automatically and immediately to the surviving joint tenant or tenants, entirely outside probate. What title generally needs is a certified death certificate and, in many cases, an affidavit confirming the death, rather than a court appointment of any kind.
The complication surfaces when more than two people held title jointly, or when someone assumes a property is held this way and it turns out not to be. Not every deed that lists multiple owners creates a joint tenancy specifically, and some create a tenancy in common instead, which behaves differently at death and does not carry the automatic survivorship right. Reading the vesting language on the recorded deed is where this always has to start.
Basis treatment on jointly held property also differs from property passing through probate, and it is worth a tax advisor's attention before a sale is planned around it.
Sequence
What Usually Happens
- 1A certified copy of the death certificate is obtained
- 2An affidavit of death of joint tenant is prepared and recorded, where required
- 3Title company reviews the recorded deed to confirm joint tenancy vesting
- 4The surviving joint tenant or tenants hold clear title without probate
- 5A sale can proceed once title is confirmed in the survivor's name
Compare
Not to Be Confused With
- This TermJoint Tenancy
- Often Mistaken ForTenancy in Common
- Often Mistaken ForRight of Survivorship
- Often Mistaken ForCommunity Property
What Tells Them Apart
Joint tenancy and tenancy in common are both forms of co-ownership, but only joint tenancy carries the automatic survivorship right, meaning a deceased owner's share passes to the survivors rather than into their own estate. Right of Survivorship is the specific feature joint tenancy provides. Community property is a separate form of ownership between spouses that can sometimes include a survivorship right of its own, depending on the vesting.
Questions
Questions People Ask
Does a house in joint tenancy have to go through probate?
Generally no. A surviving joint tenant typically receives full ownership automatically at the other owner's death, without a probate proceeding. Title usually requires a certified death certificate and sometimes a recorded affidavit before a sale can close, which a title company can confirm for a specific property.
How can I tell if a property is held in joint tenancy or tenancy in common?
The recorded deed states the vesting, and it should say explicitly whether the owners hold as joint tenants or as tenants in common. Assuming based on how a family describes the ownership is unreliable, since the two forms behave very differently at death. A title company can confirm from the recorded document.