Q: My brother and I inherited land as joint tenants. What does that mean?

A: When multiple parties own property, there are generally two basic ways in which ownership interests in the property may be divided among them: As tenants in common or as joint tenants. In a tenancy in common, each party owns a share of the entire property and possesses all the rights inherent in being an owner of the property. Each party's individual title is fully transferable, and upon death, his or her title passes to his or her respective heirs. Accordingly, if a parcel of property is owned by Brother A and Brother B as tenants in common, when Brother B dies, his interest in the property will pass to his heirs, who will then have a tenancy in common with Brother A.

On the other hand, in a joint tenancy, multiple parties have essentially one ownership interest in real property. Upon one party's death, his or her ownership interest passes to the other joint tenants. As such, if Brother A and Brother B own a parcel of property as joint tenants, when Brother B dies, his property rights are conveyed directly to, and merge with, the property rights of Brother A, who will have sole legal title to the property.

There are also limitations on the transfer of an interest as a joint tenant. Georgia law provides that specific terms must be included if a grantor of property intends to convey the property to the grantees in joint tenancy, such as "joint tenants," "joint tenants and not as tenants in common," "joint tenants with survivorship," or there must be some other mention that they acquire the property "jointly with survivorship."

This column is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is not intended to render legal advice.

— By Raghu R. Raju, an associate with Weinstock & Scavo, P.C.; rraju@wslaw.net; www.wslaw.com.

Have question you would like answered in this column? Please contact James J. Scavo at jscavo@wslaw.net or c/o Weinstock & Scavo, P.C., 3405 Piedmont Road, Suite 300, Atlanta, GA 30305.