LGBT Real Estate in Austin, TX: Forms of Title

LGBT Real Estate in Austin, TX: Forms of Title

Many people don’t realize there are a number of different ways you can take title to a property, whether it’s your primary residence or an investment property.  We do, and we realize how important these decisions are, especially for our LGBT clients. Let’s review the different ways LGBT couples can take title to property.

Joint Tenancy with right of Survivorship

This is the most common option that same-sex and other unmarried couples choose. Including this phrase in your title establishes that you and your partner share the use and the ownership of the home and that if one of you dies, the other person will automatically be granted sole ownership.

Tenants in Common

This options allows owners of a home to leave their shares of the property to whomever they choose, as outlined in a will. Let’s say a same-sex couple owns a home together, but they would like to leave their portion of the home and its equity to their children from a prior relationship. This form of ownership allows them to do just that. LGBT clients can also place their property in a living trust to achieve this same outcome.

Sole Ownership

In this form of title, only one person in the relationship actually owns the home. This may be a good choice for couples who have wide variances in income and seek a tax advantage. However, this form of holding title carries extreme risks for the person who is not names on title, especially for LGBT couples, in the event of a breakup or death. If your partner’s name is the only one listed on the title to your home, and he or she dies without a will, you would have no right to claim ownership to the home without a court battle. For obvious reasons, we do not recommend this for of taking title.

Theresa Bastian and Rodney Campbell, owners of Keep Austin Weird Homes, believe in building business and personal relationships with honesty and integrity. Our philosophy is that everyone deserves the chance to realize their dreams of homeownership, and we excel at coming up with outside the box strategies to help our clients. Our brokerage provides fair, accurate, and comprehensive real estate advice and representation to all of our clients, particularly the LGBT community.