These procedures are often more expensive than administering your will, since a properly drawn will names the beneficiaries and delineates procedures to simplify the administration process. An estate by entireties may be defined as a form of joint ownership of real or personal property by husband and wife with right of survivorship. A joint tenancy with right of survivorship is a form of ownership of real personal property by any two or more individuals with rights of survivorship. Such ownership always involves a gamble as to who dies first. The most that can be said is that in some cases, and for certain kinds of property, estate by entireties or joint tenancy with right of survivorship may be useful legal devices in addition to a will.
Countless problems arise from the indiscriminate use of such estates by unskilled persons.
Ownership with survivorship should be created with a great deal of care. In some cases, ownership of too much jointly owned property may increase estate taxes. In addition, ownership of too much jointly held property may cause a shortage of liquid assets available to pay your debts and other expenses following your death. Life insurance is only one kind of property that a person may own. If a life insurance policy is payable to an individual, the will of the insured has no effect on the proceeds.