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A.R.S. § 33-431

Joint Tenancy and Survivorship Rights

Verified April 4, 202657th Legislature, 1st Regular Session

Property grants to two or more people default to tenancies in common, not joint tenancies. To create joint tenancy with right of survivorship or community property with right of survivorship, the deed must expressly say so. Either form of survivorship can be terminated by recording an affidavit.

Title 33, CONVEYANCES AND DEEDS

azleg.gov

The Default: Tenancy in Common

When real estate or other property is granted to two or more people, the default ownership form is a tenancy in common. Joint tenancy does not arise automatically. The only exceptions are grants in trust, grants to executors, or grants to spouses.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, all grants and devises of real property made to two or more persons create estates in common and not in joint tenancy, except grants or devises in trust, or to executors, or to husband and wife.

A.R.S. § 33-431(A)

This matters because tenancy in common and joint tenancy work very differently at death. With tenancy in common, each owner's share passes through their estate, which may require probate. With joint tenancy, the surviving owner receives the deceased owner's share automatically. Understanding this distinction can also affect tax benefits tied to the property.

Creating and Ending Survivorship Rights

To create joint tenancy with right of survivorship, the deed must use express language declaring it. The same applies for married couples who want community property with right of survivorship. The law also allows an owner to create joint tenancy by transferring real estate from themselves to themselves and another person.

Ending the right of survivorship is equally deliberate. Either spouse can end community property with right of survivorship by recording an affidavit in the county recorder's office. For joint tenancy, any joint tenant can record a similar affidavit. Recording the affidavit does not destroy the ownership interest. It only removes the automatic transfer at death.

In the case of real property owned as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the right of survivorship is extinguished as provided in section 14-2804 or on the recordation in the office of the recorder of the county or counties where the real property is located an affidavit entitled "affidavit terminating right of survivorship" executed by any joint tenant under oath.

A.R.S. § 33-431(E)

For families making decisions about how to title property, these distinctions are essential. The wrong form of ownership can mean the difference between a smooth transfer at death and a probate proceeding that takes months to resolve.

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all grants and devises of real property made to two or more persons create estates in common and not in joint tenancy, except grants or devises in trust, or to executors, or to husband and wife. B. A grant or devise to two or more persons may by express words vest the estate in the survivor on the death of a grantee or devisee when expressly declared in the grant, transfer or devise to be a joint tenancy with right of survivorship. An estate in joint tenancy with right of survivorship may also be created by grant or transfer from a sole owner to himself and others, or from two or more owners to themselves or to one or more of them and others. C. A grant or devise to a husband and wife may by express words vest the estate in the surviving spouse on the death of one of the spouses when expressly declared in the grant, transfer or devise to be an estate in community property with right of survivorship. An estate in community property with right of survivorship may also be created by grant or transfer from a husband and wife, when holding title as community property or otherwise, to themselves or from either husband or wife to both husband and wife. D. In the case of real property owned by a husband and wife as community property with right of survivorship, the right of survivorship is extinguished as provided in section 14-2804 or on the recordation in the office of the recorder of the county or counties where the real property is located an affidavit entitled "affidavit terminating right of survivorship" executed by either spouse under oath that sets forth a stated intent by the spouse to terminate the survivorship right, a description of the instrument by which the right of survivorship was created including the date the instrument was recorded and the county recorder's book and page or instrument reference number and the legal description of the real property affected by the affidavit. T...

This page provides general legal information about Arizona statutes and is not legal advice. For guidance on how this law applies to your situation, speak with a qualified attorney.

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