The manner in which your house title is held has many legal ramifications, from how the property can be sold or taken by debt collectors to how your estate manages the property after your death.
If you hold your home title in sole ownership but live in it with a partner, for example, you might expect that your partner will be able to stay in the home if you die. In reality, the executor of your estate might be able to sell the home without getting your partner’s input. If you’d held the title as joint tenants with a right of survivorship, your partner would get full ownership of the home and be able to continue living there.
In addition, if you owe debts, collectors can try to make you sell your home to settle them. If you held your title as tenants by entirety, your home would be safe from debt collection, assuming your partner did not also have significant debts.
Each method of holding a title has different pros and cons. You can choose the way in which you hold your title based on your goals, such as making sure your partner can continue living in the home in the event of your death or choosing exactly how the proceeds from the sale of the home are used.
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