In co-ownership, if owners take title at different times, the form of ownership is called:

• A. Joint tenancy
• B. Community property
• C. Tenants by the entirety
• D. Tenants in common

Answer: (D)

When co-owners acquire title at different times, there is no unity of time, which is essential for a joint tenancy. That situation points to tenants in common. In this form, each owner holds an undivided right to possess the whole property but with a distinct, potentially unequal, ownership interest. Because there’s no right of survivorship, a co-owner’s share passes to heirs or through a will at death, not automatically to the other co-owners. Other forms involve specific conditions: joint tenancy requires all four unities (time, title, interest, possession) and includes survivorship; community property relates to marriage in certain states and how property acquired during marriage is treated; tenants by the entirety is a form for married couples with survivorship. So when title is taken at different times, the appropriate form is tenants in common.