The right of survivorship is a feature of which ownership form among the following?

• A. Joint tenancy
• B. Tenancy in severalty
• C. Life estate
• D. Tenancy by the entirety

Answer: (A)

Survivorship means that when one owner dies, the deceased owner’s interest automatically passes to the remaining owners, not to the deceased’s heirs. This automatic transfer is a defining feature of joint tenancy, which rests on four unities—time, title, interest, and possession—that keep the owners tied together and ensure the surviving co-owners become the sole owners of the whole property.

Tenancy by the entirety also has survivorship, but it’s a special form geared to married couples with its own protections and rules about transfers. Tenancy in severalty is sole ownership and has no survivorship—there’s no automatic transfer to others. A life estate ends when the life tenant dies, rather than transferring to other co-owners.

So, among these forms, joint tenancy best exemplifies the right of survivorship.