What does Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship mean?

What is joint tenants with rights of survivorship?  What does it mean and how can it affect a probate case?  We’ll answer those important questions and more in this post.

My name is Erik Broel & I am the founder & CEO of Georgia Probate Law Group. At our firm we help families who have lost a loved one navigate the complex and confusing legal process so they can make sure the estate is handled properly and their loved one’s memory is honored. Everything discussed in this post is for general information and is not legal advice – for specific information about your situation, please go here to request a complimentary consultation with one of our inheritance lawyers.

Joint tenants with rights of survivorship is a term used to describe one way that multiple people can own real estate together.  It is often abbreviated as JTWROS.

When a property is held as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, it means that when one of the owners passes away, that owner’s interest in the property automatically transfers to the other owner.  The transfer is automatic and does not need an estate to be opened to be effective.

While a probate estate is not required, the best practice is to file an affidavit in the real estate records. The reason for this is that when the home is sold, either now or at some point in the future, a title agent will do a title search.  The affidavit will make the title record clear for the title agent and allow the title search to go smoothly.

Since property that is joint tenants with rights of survivorship does not go through probate, there are two additional things to note.  First, a Will cannot control the property.  And, second, the property is not subject to creditor claims from estate creditors.

For more information about this and other probate topics, please go to GPLG.com/Handbook to download a complimentary copy of our Georgia Probate Handbook. You’ll learn the key things that go wrong in an estate, how to prevent them, and what to do if they happen.

You also can reach out to our office at (770) 796-4582 to set up a consultation.