Rights of Real Estate Survivorship

As the song goes, “no one lives forever.” So what happens to property between co-owners in cases of survivorship? First off… hire an attorney to help with the fine particulars. This is meant as an overview to some of your options.

When it comes to real estate ownership between spouses in Wisconsin , Wisconsin Marital Property Chapter 766.31(3) says that “Each spouse has a present undivided one-half interest in each item of marital property….” In the simplest terms that is to say what is mine is his/hers and what is his/hers is mine. Naturally, most personal interests in real property must be considered, in a spousal relationship, as marital property and are therefore jointly owned, which brings us to Joint Tenancy.

A joint tenant is one of several owners of real property with rights of survivorship, so that when one owner dies the other/s retain whole ownership. In the case of two people there would be a similar 50/50 interest as that to which marital property affords.

Tenants in common own property as a group but their fractional interest cannot be divided or transferred to other property owners at death. This would be similar to season tickets to the Green Bay Packers. They are not transferable at death yet co-ownership with thousands of other fans is inherent during the life of the owner.

Naturally, there are many gray areas that occur. What if a married person is a tenant in common with a group of people? Such questions should be directed to legal counsel. They are questions that need to be asked before committing oneself to real property ownership. As another example, a tenant in severalty means one person owns the property - easy. Get a will and you’re all set.

Don’t wait until the day of closing when the title agent is sure to ask you, “how will you be taking title?” For liability reasons they won’t be able to explain. I hope this overview is a helpful starting point.

Kevin Nordahl is a life-long resident of Door County, a REALTORŪ and a member of the Door County MLS. He is a Past President of the Door County Board of REALTORS® and a Senior Sales Consultant at Coldwell Banker Door County Horizons in Fish Creek. He may be reached online at knordahl@doorcountyrealestate.com or by phone at (920) 493-4004.

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