If you co-own a home with another person as joint tenants with a right of survivorship, can the other co-owner leave somebody a life estate to his share of the property in his will?
If you co-own a home with another person as joint tenants with a right of survivorship, can the other co-owner leave somebody a life estate to his share of the property in his will?
If this is in fact a joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTWROS), the surviving co-owner will become the sole owner of the property outside of probate. Even if the will contains a provision that attempts to leave the deceased co-owner's share to another person, or attempts to create a life estate in that share, the real estate won't be an asset in the probate proceeding and the gift will fail.
However, it is possible to break a JTWROS by conveying your share to another person or entity so, for example, it would be possible for the person to convey their share to a trust, thereby converting the JTWROS to a tenancy in common, and giving an heir rights to the undivided half-interest that is possessed by a tenant in common.