If a tenancy in common exists, which statement best describes survivorship?

• A. There is a right of survivorship.
• B. There is no right of survivorship; heirs may inherit a decedent's interest.
• C. Survivorship is automatic for all co-owners.
• D. Survivorship is determined by the grantor.

Answer: (B)

In tenancy in common there is no right of survivorship. Each co-owner holds an individual, transferable interest that can be equal or unequal, and when someone dies their share passes to their heirs or to whom they’ve named in a will, not automatically to the surviving co-owners. This is why heirs may inherit the decedent’s interest and the surviving co-owners don’t automatically gain that deceased share.

Contrast this with joint tenancy, where survivorship is automatic: the surviving co-owners immediately acquire the deceased’s interest. The grantor doesn’t determine survivorship in tenancy in common—the nature of the ownership itself does.