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PrintTenancy in Common
A small business owner should consider different forms of home ownership if no homestead exemption is available for an asset exemption plan. If property is owned as tenancy in common and one of the parties dies, the decedent's interest passes to the beneficiary under the decedent's will, or to the closest heirs as directed by state statute.
In fact, the main difference between this form and joint tenancy (or tenancy by the entirety) is the lack of a right of survivorship in a tenancy in common. However, as with joint tenancy, property is not protected from creditors when ownership is in the form of tenancy in common.
In addition, in this form, the "unities" do not apply, so that the co-owners can hold unequal interests, and can take their ownership interests at different times and through different instruments. Thus, if there is an attempt to create a joint tenancy that fails because the co-owners did not take possession at the same time and by the same legal document, the result will be a tenancy in common.
