A brother and sister own a home as joint tenants. The brother secretly conveys his interest in the home to a friend through a valid deed, but he does not inform the sister. The friend records the deed. What is the status of the sibling's ownership interests in the home after the conveyance?
The friend’s interest is invalid because the brother failed to inform the sister about the transfer.
The joint tenancy remains intact, and the sister keeps a right of survivorship in the property.
The joint tenancy is severed, resulting in the sister and the friend holding the property as tenants in common.
The joint tenancy is severed, and as a result, the sister now owns the property outright.
The correct answer is that the conveyance severs the joint tenancy, creating a tenancy in common between the sister and the friend. A joint tenancy includes a right of survivorship, but this is eliminated when one joint tenant conveys their interest to a third party, as it destroys the four unities (time, title, interest, and possession) required for a joint tenancy to exist. Recording the deed is not necessary for severance but puts the world on notice about the transfer. Other options misstate the legal outcome by either suggesting the joint tenancy remains intact or misunderstand the nature of tenancies altogether.
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