Establishing a Marital Residence

If the owner's spouse is not in title, the property may be considered a "Marital Residence" if the non-titled spouse spends one over-night in the property during the course of the titled spouse's ownership. In this instance the non-titled spouse will be required to sign the Deed to remove any potential marital interest to the property.

Example: Jim and Sally are married. Sally buys an investment property that is deeded to her alone, she plans to rent out to tenants. Jim and Sally stay at the property every weekend until the units are rented. Eventhough Jim and Sally do not intend on living there, Jim has established his marital interest in the property and must sign the Deed when Sally decides to sell, solely to acknowledge that she is selling the property. However, if Jim passes away before the sale or if he and Sally get a divorce, his marital interest severs from the property. 

NOTE: This status does not establish any financial claim the non-titled spouse may have and it is not up to the title company to determine the non-titled spouse's rights. If you have any questions, please reach out to your attorney for direction. All sale proceeds will be payable to the Owner who is in title, regardless of the marital residency status.

There are two common forms of ownership which will determine how your legal interest is passed down in the case of death. This is a description of both options:

Tenants in Common

If one owner were to pass away, the deceased person’s interest would go through their Estate, meaning it would be decided by the deceased’s Last Will & Testament or divided between their heirs. This is the default status if nothing is specifically written on the deed.

Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship

If one owner were to pass away, the deceased's ownership interest would go directly to the surviving owner or split equally amoung multiple owners.

NOTE: The vesting of "married to each other" defaults to "Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship"; however in the case of a divorce, the property ownership will revert to “Tenants in Common” unless “Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship” was specified on the Deed.