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Difference between revisions of "Basic Principles of Property and Debt in Family Law"
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Basic Principles of Property and Debt in Family Law (view source)
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When two or more people own a thing as ''joint tenants'', they are each owners of the whole thing. This is a fuzzy kind of shared ownership because the interests of one owner can't be separated out from the interests of the other because they each own the whole thing. To put it another way, a joint tenant doesn't own a particular slice of the pie, a joint tenant owns the whole pie. | When two or more people own a thing as ''joint tenants'', they are each owners of the whole thing. This is a fuzzy kind of shared ownership because the interests of one owner can't be separated out from the interests of the other because they each own the whole thing. To put it another way, a joint tenant doesn't own a particular slice of the pie, a joint tenant owns the whole pie. | ||
When a joint tenant dies, | When a joint tenant dies, their interest in the asset disappears, and the surviving joint tenants continue to own the whole asset as they always had. As a result, joint tenancies are extremely handy estate planning tools. | ||
When people own a thing as ''tenants in common'', each owner's interest in a property is separate and distinct. The tenants in common of a property each own their particular slice of the pie; collectively, they all own the whole pie, but individually they just own their personal share. | When people own a thing as ''tenants in common'', each owner's interest in a property is separate and distinct. The tenants in common of a property each own their particular slice of the pie; collectively, they all own the whole pie, but individually they just own their personal share. | ||
Because each owner's interest is separate from the other owners, a tenant in common can sell | Because each owner's interest is separate from the other owners, a tenant in common can sell their share in the asset to someone else, put a mortgage on their interest or use it as collateral, or give it to someone else as a gift. If a tenant in common dies, their interest in the thing becomes a part of their estate to be distributed according to their will. | ||
=====The effect of the Separation===== | =====The effect of the Separation===== | ||
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*clarify which property is excluded property and what its value was when the relationship begain, | *clarify which property is excluded property and what its value was when the relationship begain, | ||
*allow a spouse to keep not just | *allow a spouse to keep not just their excluded property but the growth in value of their excluded property, | ||
*say that there will be no shared family property, except for property that is registered in both spouses' names or that the parties agree in writing will be shared family property, | *say that there will be no shared family property, except for property that is registered in both spouses' names or that the parties agree in writing will be shared family property, | ||
*give a share of a spouse's excluded property to the other spouse, including a share which increases over time, | *give a share of a spouse's excluded property to the other spouse, including a share which increases over time, | ||
