Opinion ID: 2521340
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Tenancy in Common and Joint Tenancy

Text: A tenancy in common is a form of ownership in which each co-tenant owns a separate fractional share of undivided property. United States v. Craft, 535 U.S. 274, 279-80, 122 S.Ct. 1414, 152 L.Ed.2d 437 (2002) (citing to 7 R. Powell & P. Rohan, Real Property § 50.01[1] (M. Wolf ed.2001) (hereinafter Powell)). All co-tenants share a single right to possession of the entire interest. 7 Powell, supra, § 50.01[1]. Each co-tenant also possesses the right to: unilaterally alienate his or her interest through sale, gift or encumbrance; to exclude third parties from the property; and to receive a portion of any income derived from the property. Craft, 535 U.S. at 280, 122 S.Ct. 1414. Conversely, joint tenancy is a form of ownership in which each joint tenant possesses the entire estate, rather than a fractional share. Id. Upon the death of one joint tenant, the remaining joint tenant or tenants automatically inherit that tenant's share in the property. Id. (Upon the death of one joint tenant, that tenant's share in the property does not pass through will or the rules of intestate succession; rather, the remaining tenant or tenants automatically inherit it.). This feature, called the right of survivorship, is the principal distinction between a joint tenancy and a tenancy in common. Bradley v. Mann, 34 Colo.App. 135, 525 P.2d 492, 493 (1974) (Upon the death of one of the co-tenants in joint tenancy, the entire undivided interest of the deceased passes, by operation of law, to the surviving co-tenant.). At common law, joint tenancies were the favored form of concurrent ownership of real property. Smith v. Greenburg, 121 Colo. 417, 218 P.2d 514, 519 (1950). If property was conveyed to two or more persons, the law presumed that a joint tenancy was intended. 4 David A. Thomas, Thompson on Real Property § 31.06(a) (David A. Thomas ed.1994) (hereinafter Thompson). For purposes of establishing a joint tenancy, the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession were essential components. 7 Powell, supra, § 51.01[2] (citing to 2 Blackstone, Commentaries 180); see also Tabor v. Sullivan, 12 Colo. 136, 20 P. 437, 441 (1889) (Elliott, J., concurring) (noting that joint tenancies require the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession). This requirement meant that to create a joint tenancy, a conveyance had to convey to two or more persons at the same time the same title to the same interest with the same right of possession. 7 Powell, supra, § 51.01[2]. If one of the four unities ceased to exist, a tenancy in common remained. Riddle v. Harmon, 102 Cal.App.3d 524, 162 Cal.Rptr. 530, 531 (1980). Today, in Colorado, joint tenancies are no longer the presumptive form of concurrent ownership of real property. Greenburg, 218 P.2d at 519. Rather, tenancies in common are favored and the very existence of the joint tenancy is circumscribed by statute. Id. Courts strictly construe instruments purporting to create a joint tenancy and do not recognize joint tenancies created by instruments that lack statutorily prescribed language. In re Kwatkowski's Estate, 94 Colo. 222, 29 P.2d 639, 640 (1934). The requirements for establishing a joint tenancy in real property are set forth in section 38-31-101(1), 10 C.R.S. (2003). That provision states: No estate in joint tenancy in real property, except when conveyed or devised to executors, trustees, or fiduciaries, shall be created or established unless, in the instrument conveying the property or in the will devising the same, it is declared that the property is conveyed or devised in joint tenancy or as joint tenants. The abbreviation JTWROS and the phrase as joint tenants with right of survivorship or in joint tenancy with right of survivorship shall have the same meaning. Any grantor in any such instrument of conveyance may also be one of the grantees therein. Thus, to establish a joint tenancy in Colorado, there must only be specific language evidencing the intent to create a joint tenancy. The four unities have been abolished by statute.