Joint Tenants vs. Tenants in Common in Minnesota

In Minnesota, the choice between joint tenants and tenants in common comes down to what happens when one owner dies: a joint tenant’s share passes automatically to the surviving co-owner outside of probate, while a tenant in common’s share becomes part of their estate and goes to whoever their will or the intestacy statute directs. Minnesota assumes tenancy in common unless the deed expressly declares a joint tenancy, so the words on the deed control everything that follows.

How Each Form Is Created

Under Minnesota Statutes Section 500.19, any deed or devise naming two or more owners creates a tenancy in common unless the document “expressly declared” a joint tenancy.¹ A deed that simply reads “to A and B” creates a tenancy in common. To get a joint tenancy, the deed needs language such as “to A and B as joint tenants” or “to A and B as joint tenants with right of survivorship.” When the wording is ambiguous, the default wins.

This matters at closing. Buyers often assume that co-owning a home automatically means the survivor inherits it. In Minnesota, that assumption is backwards. If nothing on the deed says joint tenancy, the deceased owner’s share flows through their estate, not to the co-owner.

The Right of Survivorship

Survivorship is the defining feature. When a joint tenant dies, their interest passes to the surviving joint tenant or tenants by operation of law. No probate is needed, no will controls the transfer, and the deceased owner’s heirs have no claim to the property. The survivor records an affidavit of survivorship with a death certificate and title is clear.

Tenants in common have no survivorship right.² A deceased tenant in common’s share becomes part of their estate. If there is a will, the share goes where the will directs. If there is no will, Minnesota’s intestate succession rules apply. A surviving spouse generally inherits the entire share when all of the decedent’s descendants are also the spouse’s descendants. In a blended family, the spouse takes the first $225,000 of the intestate property plus half the remainder, with the balance going to the decedent’s descendants.³ That result may or may not be what the deceased co-owner wanted, which is why tenants in common need wills or trusts more urgently than joint tenants do.

Joint tenancy avoids probate, but it also removes your control over the destination. Your share goes to the surviving co-owner regardless of what your will says. For a married couple with shared children, that is often the goal. For someone with children from an earlier relationship, it can produce exactly the outcome they were trying to avoid.

Shares, Possession, and Expenses

Joint tenants hold equal shares by definition. Two joint tenants each own half; three each own a third. Tenants in common can hold whatever shares the deed specifies, so a 70/30 or 60/40 split is perfectly valid.

Both forms give every co-owner an equal right to possess and use the whole property, not a specific room or portion. A co-owner with a 25% interest can occupy the entire house. That right carries obligations. Co-owners are expected to contribute to property taxes, insurance, mortgage payments, and necessary maintenance in proportion to their share. The county does not split the tax bill; it assesses the property as a whole and can pursue any co-owner for the full amount. A co-owner who covers another’s share to prevent a tax sale can seek reimbursement, but recovering it often takes legal action.

When one co-owner lives in the property alone, they generally owe nothing to the absent owners for that use. If they actively lock the other owners out, that becomes an “ouster,” and the excluded owner can recover the rental value of the property for the period they were kept out. Courts offset those damages against the excluded owner’s unpaid share of expenses, so the accounting cuts both ways.

Necessary repairs that preserve value are usually reimbursable in proportion to each share. Voluntary improvements like a remodel are riskier: without agreement in advance, the co-owner who paid may not recover their cost, though they can sometimes claim credit for any value the improvement adds if the property is later sold in a partition action.

Severing a Joint Tenancy

A joint tenant who wants out of the survivorship arrangement can sever the joint tenancy, converting their interest into a tenancy in common. Minnesota is unusually specific about how. Under Section 500.19, a severance is effective only if one of these four things happens:¹

A severance instrument is recorded with the county recorder or registrar of titles where the property sits.
All joint tenants sign an instrument of severance.
A court of competent jurisdiction orders the severance.
A joint tenant’s bankruptcy proceeding severs the tenancy.

The recording route is the one that matters in practice. A joint tenant can act alone by executing and recording a deed conveying their interest to themselves as a tenant in common. The other joint tenant does not have to consent or even know, though acting without a conversation obviously creates problems. Minnesota also allows owners to convey directly to themselves, so no straw-man intermediary is required.¹

One automatic severance is worth knowing. A divorce decree severs all joint tenancy interests between the spouses unless the decree specifically says otherwise.¹ That stops an ex-spouse from inheriting through survivorship after the marriage ends.

Transfer on Death Deeds

Minnesota recognizes transfer on death deeds under Section 507.071, and they interact with each form of co-ownership differently.⁴ A transfer on death deed names a beneficiary who takes the property when the owner dies, without probate, and has no effect on title during the owner’s lifetime.

For tenants in common, this is straightforward. Each tenant can execute a transfer on death deed for their own share, directing it wherever they like, without needing the other co-owners to sign anything.

For joint tenants, the rules are tighter. A transfer on death deed signed by only one joint tenant does not override the right of survivorship. If all the joint tenants sign together, the deed takes effect only after the last surviving joint tenant dies.⁴ If the last surviving joint tenant did not sign, the deed is void. Survivorship takes priority unless the deed specifically states it severs the joint tenancy.

Creditors and Judgment Liens

A creditor with a judgment against one co-owner can attach a lien to that owner’s interest. What the creditor can actually reach depends on the ownership form.

For tenants in common, the lien attaches to the debtor’s share, and the creditor can force a sale of that share. A stranger could end up owning a fractional interest alongside the other co-owners. The non-debtor owners’ shares are not directly at risk, but a forced sale of a fractional interest is disruptive for everyone.

For joint tenants, a judgment lien can attach to the debtor’s interest, but if the debtor dies before the creditor forces action, the survivorship right may extinguish the lien and the property passes to the surviving joint tenant free of that debt. Creditors know this and tend to move quickly, either forcing a partition sale or triggering a severance. Once the lien forces a severance, survivorship is destroyed and the property becomes a tenancy in common.

Property taxes fall on the property as a whole regardless of form. Any co-owner can be pursued for the full amount, and a co-owner who pays to prevent a tax sale can seek reimbursement from the others.

When Co-Owners Can’t Agree

When co-owners hit an impasse, any owner with an interest can file a partition action under Minnesota Statutes Section 558.01. The remedy is available to joint tenants and tenants in common alike.⁵ The court can either divide the property physically among the owners or order it sold with the proceeds split according to each owner’s interest.

Physical partition can work for large rural parcels but is impractical for a single-family home. When the court finds that dividing the property would cause “great prejudice to the owners,” it orders a sale instead.⁵ The Minnesota Supreme Court applied that standard in Swogger v. Taylor, weighing whether dividing a farm in kind would materially diminish the value of each owner’s share.⁶

Partition is expensive. Appraisals, attorney fees, and court costs routinely add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Courts also account for each co-owner’s contributions during the proceeding, so if one owner paid the mortgage for years while the other did not, those payments factor into how the proceeds are split. A written co-ownership agreement covering expense allocation, buyout rights, and dispute resolution can prevent the breakdown that leads to partition in the first place.

Which Structure Fits Your Situation

Joint tenancy fits when co-owners want the survivor to inherit automatically and when simplicity matters more than flexibility. Married couples buying a home together are the classic example, and unmarried partners and family members use it as well. The trade-offs are real: equal shares only, no ability to leave your interest to anyone other than the surviving co-owner, and the risk that one owner unilaterally severs the tenancy and destroys survivorship without warning.

Tenancy in common fits when owners want unequal shares, need to control where their interest goes at death, or are investing together without a close personal relationship. Business partners buying rental property, siblings holding a family cabin, and friends pooling money for a home purchase all tend to land here. The cost is that each share passes through the owner’s estate, which means probate unless the owner has set up a transfer on death deed or a trust.

One tax point worth flagging in either case: when a co-owner dies, federal law adjusts the cost basis of the property to fair market value, but only for the deceased owner’s share.⁷ For non-spouses holding as joint tenants, that is a 50% step-up. Minnesota is not a community property state, so married joint tenants receive the same half step-up as anyone else, not a full step-up on the whole property. And adding someone to a deed can trigger federal gift tax reporting if the value of the transferred interest exceeds the annual exclusion, which is $19,000 per recipient for 2026.⁸

Whichever form you choose, put a written co-ownership agreement in place before closing. Spell out how expenses are split, what happens if one owner wants to sell, whether the others have a right of first refusal, and how disputes get resolved. Minnesota law sets the framework. The agreement between co-owners is what keeps the framework from being tested in court.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 500-19 – Division
2
Health Care Programs Eligibility Policy Manual. 19.25.15 Real Property
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 524.2-102 – Share of the Spouse
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 507.071 – Transfer on Death Deeds
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Section 558.01 – Partition, Sale; Who May Bring Action
6
Justia Law. Swogger v Taylor – Minnesota Supreme Court Decisions
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent
8
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026