Buying With Others
How can co-buyers hold title — joint tenancy vs. tenants in common?
The short answer
How you hold title — the “vesting” on the deed — decides what each co-owner owns and what happens to their share when they die, and it is governed by state law. The two common forms for co-buyers are joint tenancy, where owners hold equal shares with a right of survivorship (a deceased owner’s share passes automatically to the survivors), and tenancy in common, where owners can hold unequal shares and each share passes to that owner’s heirs, not the co-owners. Because the choice is a legal and estate-planning decision that varies by state, it is worth setting with a real estate attorney rather than left to a default on the deed.
Key points
- Vesting is set on the deed and governed by state law.
- Joint tenancy: equal shares, survivorship — a share passes to co-owners.
- Tenancy in common: unequal shares allowed, a share passes to heirs.
- This is an estate decision — confirm it with a real estate attorney.
Why survivorship is the pivotal difference
Under joint tenancy, if one owner dies, their interest passes automatically to the surviving owners, outside of probate. Under tenancy in common, a deceased owner’s share goes to whomever their will or state law directs — which could make a co-owner’s heir your new co-owner. For unmarried co-buyers especially, that difference can determine whether a surviving partner keeps the home or ends up sharing it with the other owner’s family.
A separate written agreement
Vesting sets ownership shares, but it does not spell out who pays for what, how to value a buyout, or how to force a sale in a dispute. Co-buyers commonly sign a separate co-ownership agreement covering those terms. Title insurance protects the ownership interest recorded on the deed; it does not resolve disagreements between owners.
Sources
Every claim above traces to a public government source.
- ViewT1Title insurance — what it is and who it protects
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · Government / primary · 2024