When you purchase property in Georgia there are just a few ways to take title. You do not have to decide when you write the offer, but must decide prior to the attorney drawing up the deed that the seller(s) will sign at closing.
Ownership in Severalty- single ownership. The term comes from the fact that the owner is severed or cut off from all others. The sole owner may be an individual person or an artificial person such as a corporation. Georgia is not a community property state, therefore any property obtained during a marriage in one spouses name is the sole property of that spouse. Also property being sold by a married person need only have the signature of the title holder,not the spouse.
Tennacy in Common. A parcel of real estate may be owned two or more people as tenants in common. In a tenancy in common, each tenant holds an undivided fractional interest in the property. A person may own 1/2 or 1/3 interest, however the property is not divided. The deed may state the ownership interest, but if it does not the share is determined to be equal divided by the number of owners.
Joint Tenancy- Two or more people may own property in Georgia with Joint Tenancy which has the most distinguishing feature of right of survivorship. Upon the death of an owner his or her interest does not pass to heirs or according to a will. Rather, the entire ownership remains in the surviving joint tenant(s). Once the ownership reaches one person the title is then Severalty. If you purchased property in Georgia prior to 1976 you do NOT have right of survivorship in your deed as it just became available that year.
This is just a brief description of the types of title available in Georgia. It is not intended to be used as legal advice. When purchasing property in Georgia, an attorney closing state whereby an attorney MUST conduct closings it is wise to discuss the type of title you will be seeking with the closing attorney.
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