Estate Planning

What It Means

Estate planning is the legal and financial process of arranging how a person's assets — including real property interests — will be managed, protected, and distributed after their death or incapacitation. Common estate planning instruments include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations.

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In co-ownership, estate planning takes on additional complexity because each co-owner's property interest is intertwined with the interests of other co-owners. How one co-owner's share transfers at death directly affects the remaining co-owners' rights, obligations, and living situation.

How It Intersects with Co-ownership

The Vesting structure recorded on the Deed determines whether a co-owner's share passes through Probate or transfers automatically to surviving co-owners. Under Tenants in Common, the share is part of the deceased's estate and passes to their designated beneficiaries or heirs. Under Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, survivorship overrides the will entirely — the share transfers to the surviving co-owners regardless of what the estate plan directs.

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This means estate planning decisions and vesting choices must be coordinated. A co-owner who wants their share to pass to a child or partner — rather than to the surviving co-owners — needs TIC vesting and an estate plan that reflects that intent. Conversely, a co-owner who wants the surviving parties to inherit automatically needs JTWROS vesting, understanding that their will cannot override the survivorship right.

Why It Matters for Co-owners

Without coordinated estate planning, a co-owner's death can produce outcomes no party intended: heirs who did not expect to become co-owners, surviving co-owners who must share the property with strangers, or disputes between the estate and the surviving group over valuation, use, or sale.

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A well-drafted Co-ownership Agreement addresses death as a triggering event and typically includes Buyout provisions, Right of First Refusal rights, and a defined valuation methodology. These provisions work most effectively when each co-owner's individual estate plan is aligned with the agreement's terms.

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Co-owners should review their estate plans whenever the ownership structure, vesting, or Co-ownership Agreement changes.

Key Points

• Governs how a co-owner's property interest is managed and transferred after death or incapacitation
• Vesting structure determines whether the share passes through probate or by survivorship
• Under JTWROS, survivorship overrides the will — estate plan directives do not apply to the property interest
• Under TIC, the share passes to heirs, potentially introducing new parties into the co-ownership arrangement
• Must be coordinated with the Co-ownership Agreement's buyout and succession provisions
• Should be reviewed whenever ownership structure or agreement terms change