Three siblings inherited a property after their father passed away. The siblings decided to hold the property together under a joint ownership arrangement. About five years later, one sibling sold their share to an unrelated third party. What is the most accurate description of the ownership structure after the sale?
The third-party buyer inherits the joint tenancy and shares survivorship rights with the remaining original owners.
The third-party buyer is excluded from ownership because the joint tenancy requires unity of ownership between all co-owners.
The entire joint tenancy is converted into a tenancy in common for all co-owners after the sale.
The third-party buyer becomes a tenant in common with the remaining original owners, who retain joint tenancy between them.
The correct answer is that the third-party buyer becomes a tenant in common with the remaining original owners, who continue to hold their ownership interest as joint tenants. This is because the sale of one joint tenant's interest severs that tenant’s portion of the joint tenancy and converts it into a tenancy in common. The unsevered portions of a joint tenancy remain intact as long as the other joint tenants do not perform similar actions that would sever the joint tenancy. The other answer choices are incorrect because they fail to account for the severance of the joint tenancy and its implications on the overall ownership structure.
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What does it mean to be a tenant in common?
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What is joint tenancy, and how does it differ from tenancy in common?
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