Eugene, OR asked in Estate Planning and Real Estate Law for Oregon

Q: Does the spouse of a grantor of a deed that states "tenancy in common with right of survivorship" have any claim?

Does the spouse of a grantor of a deed that states "tenancy in common with right of survivorship" have any claim to the property after the grantor dies if one of the co-owners (a grantee) of the property is still living? This is in a non-community state. Does that make the spouse of the (now deceased) grantor the new grantor of the deed? The spouse is not stated on the deed in any way, shape, or form.

2 Lawyer Answers
Anthony M. Avery
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Answered

A: The surviving tenant in common will be the owner in fee if what you state is accurate. That tenant in common will be a grantee, not a grantor. The grantors' interest were extinguished by the deed conveyance, so the spouse of a grantor is irrelevant. Hire an OR attorney to search the title.

A: I recommend you have an attorney review this Deed for you. It sounds to me like this property is owned by (likely) two people (the Grantees) with a right of survivorship. This means that if one owner dies the remaining owner continues to own 100% of the property. The spouse of the deceased owner would not have any right to the property (assuming the spouse is NOT the remaining owner).

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