• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About Our Firm
    • Career Opportunities
    • Meet Our Team
    • News and Events
    • Seniors Rock Radio
  • Estate Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Planning
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Family Farm Succession Planning
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • IRA Planning
      • Planning With An IRA
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning Services
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Elder Law Resources
      • Elder Law Reports
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Definitions
    • FREE Estate Planning Worksheet
    • FREE Webinars
    • Estate Administration Legal Guide
    • Estate Planning Articles
      • Questions for Your Estate Planning Attorney Before Creating Your First Estate Plan
      • How to Create Your First Estate Plan in 2022
      • How to Choose a Guardian for Your Child
      • Address These Three Questions in Your First Estate Plan
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Adult Guardianship
      • Alzheimer’s Care
      • Custodial Accounts for Minors
      • Estate Planning
      • FAQs for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Elder Law
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Legacy Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicare and Social Security
      • Probate
      • Probate Avoidance
      • Irrevocable Trusts
      • Trust Administration
      • Trusts
      • Veterans’ Benefits
      • Wills
    • Newsletters
    • Reports
      • Advanced Estate Planning
      • Basic Estate Planning
      • Estate Planning for Niches
      • Trust Administration
    • Top Estate Planning Techniques
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • Medicaid Planning
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Emergency Medicaid & Nursing Home Planning
    • Medicaid Frequently Asked Questions
    • Medicaid Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Estate Planning Services in Rochester, New York and the Finger Lakes Area

Connect With Us Today

(585) 374-5210
Law Pay Button
Attend a Free Webinar
Home » Estate Planning » What is a Right of Survivorship?

What is a Right of Survivorship?

December 11, 2013Estate Planning

Some estate planning terminology, such as the right of survivorship, can be something that the average person doesn’t have much experience with. Nevertheless, these types of terms have specific meaning in your plan, and you need to be comfortable with them. Let’s take a closer look at the right of survivorship and how it can affect your estate plan.

Jointly Owned Property

People sometimes own property jointly with others. This jointly owned property primarily comes in one of two different forms: “joint tenancy” or “tenancy in common.” In either form of joint ownership, each owner has an undivided right to possess and use the property.  The primary difference is the control each owner has over his or her ownership interest.

Right of Survivorship

A joint tenancy is also known as joint tenancy with the right of survivorship. Property owned with a right of survivorship gives each co-owner the automatic right to become the sole owner upon the death of the other joint owners.

For example, let’s say you and your two siblings inherit your grandfather’s home as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Upon inheriting the property, each of you is an equal co-owner. As each sibling dies, the remaining siblings remain joint owners. If you are the only remaining sibling, you become the sole owner automatically.

Contrast this with tenants in common. If you and your siblings were given the property as tenants in common, and if both of your siblings die, you wouldn’t automatically become the sole owner because there is no right of survivorship in a tenancy in common. Instead, the property rights your siblings owned would pass according to the direction of their own estate plan, and you could wind up being a co-owner with their surviving spouse or with one or more of their children.

Right of Survivorship and Estate Planning

If you own property as a joint tenant with right of survivorship, your estate plan will need to take this into account. For example, let’s say you and your spouse own your home as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Upon your death your spouse would become the sole owner. This will happen outside of probate, and may interfere with important tax planning considerations in your estate plan.

Moreover, as a sole owner, your spouse’s estate plan would need to address what happens to the property after his or her death. Unless your spouse takes estate planning steps, the home would have to pass through probate as individually owned property. So, even though jointly owned property with a right of survivorship will avoid probate at least once, the sole remaining owner will have to address the property in his or her estate plan.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Clients notice Michael Robinson’s unique approach to his estate planning practice the minute they walk through his office doors.
Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney
Latest posts by Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney (see all)
  • How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner - August 31, 2022
  • State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits - August 24, 2022
  • Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses - August 17, 2022

Other Articles You May Find Useful

How Estate Planning For A Family May Trap The Unwary Practitioner 150x150
How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner
State Income Taxation Of Social Security Benefits 150x150
State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses 150x150
Understanding Tax Apportionment Clauses
estate planning
Estate Planning in Five Easy Steps
How Do I Trust Thee…Part III 150x150
How Do I Trust Thee…Part III
How Do I Trust Thee…Part III 150x150
How Do I Trust Thee…Part I

Primary Sidebar

Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Blog Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube

TESTIMONIALS

News & Events

Seniors Rock Radio Show Recording 5-1-21

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U7UkQbEGy-xY7XFAXvX9Qz7pKSVDVV3D/view?usp=drive_web   Author Recent Posts Michael Robinson, Estate Planning AttorneyClients notice Michael Robinson’s unique approach to his estate planning practice the minute they walk through his office doors. Latest posts by Michael Robinson, Estate Planning Attorney (see all) How Estate Planning for a Family May Trap the Unwary Practitioner -... Read more →

Pittsford Office

1163 Pittsford-Victor Road, Suite 120 (Powder Mill Office Park)
Pittsford, NY 14534-3817
Phone: (585) 374-5210
Fax: (585) 485-0394

See Larger Map Get Directions

Map

mrobinson_sidbr_map

Footer

  • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
  • About The American Academy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Contact Us

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkdin
  • Youtube
robinson law logo

The Law Office of Michael Robinson, P.C.

Attorney Advertisement


© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.