What is the difference in survivorship between joint tenancy and tenancy in common?

• A. Joint tenancy includes the right of survivorship and equal shares.
• B. Tenancy in common requires joint possession and equal title.
• C. Tenancy in common includes the right of survivorship.
• D. Joint tenancy may have unequal shares.

Answer: (B)

When people co-own property, the key difference is what happens to a owner’s interest when that owner dies. In a joint tenancy, there is a right of survivorship: if one owner dies, that deceased owner’s interest automatically passes to the surviving owners, so the total ownership remains with the living co-owners. This arrangement also goes with equal shares, because joint tenancy is built on the unities of time, title, interest, and possession, which together push toward uniform ownership amounts.

In contrast, tenancy in common does not have survivorship. If an owner dies, their share goes to their heirs or to the person named in their will, not to the other co-owners, and those shares can be unequal. Both forms involve shared possession, but the survivorship feature and the potential for unequal interests distinguish tenancy in common from joint tenancy.