How does joint tenancy with right of survivorship work in Ohio?
In Ohio, real property conveyed or devised to two or more people is held as a tenancy in common unless it is given to them for their joint lives and then to the survivor or survivors of them, which creates a survivorship tenancy. A deed or will with language showing a clear intent to create a survivorship tenancy is liberally construed to do so, but the word "or" between the grantees’ names does not by itself create one. When two spouses hold the whole title as survivorship tenants and the marriage ends by divorce, annulment or dissolution, the title becomes a tenancy in common unless the judgment says otherwise. Earlier deeds that created a tenancy by the entireties in a husband and wife remain valid; for the transfer-on-death sections, tenants by the entireties means only those vested under a deed recorded between February 9, 1972, and April 3, 1985, and those sections do not authorize creating a new tenancy by the entireties. The words in the deed decide which kind of ownership was created, so read the deed itself. This is Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5302.19, 5302.20, 5302.21, 5302.22.
| What | Ohio |
|---|---|
| A deed to two or more people | Tenancy in common unless the deed says otherwise |
| What it means | Tenancy in common unless the deed declares survivorship |
Source
Ohio Rev. Code §§ 5302.19, 5302.20, 5302.21, 5302.22
Read the statute in the Ohio Revised Code (Ohio Legislative Service Commission): codes.ohio.gov.
Checked against the statute on November 13, 2026.
This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.
How Seayora uses this rule
An owner on Seayora keeps each property’s owners of record, its entity and its documents in one place, so who holds title and how is on file beside the leases and the books.
Guides on this rule
- Joint Tenancy and Transfer-on-Death Deeds by State — How each state reads a deed to two or more people, survivorship rules, and where a transfer-on-death deed is allowed by statute.
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The same question in other states
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