The "right of survivorship" is a legal concept associated with joint ownership of property
Usually, when a parent holds a property jointly with a child, we normally assume that the parent intends to give the property to the child upon demise, but this assumption can be disputed.
Recently, our local media - The Straits Times on 26 Nov 2023 featured a court case, where siblings fought over their deceased mother's estate worth an estimated $1 million dollars for more than a decade in Singapore's judiciary courts.
One of the main contention is over a condominium property in East Coast that was bought jointly in 1999 for $688,000 using money from both the mother and her eldest son with both of them having joint ownership of the said property.
The courts calculated the mother's share to be 58% and eldest son's share to be 42% as he paid $300,000 of his own money and the remaining $418,000 was from his mother's funds for the East Coast condo making the total contribution to be $718,000 for the property that was bought under joint ownership.
After the mother passed on, the eldest son assumed ownership of the whole property claiming that he has the "right of survivorship" due to their joint ownership arrangement for the property.
Joint Tenancy & "Right of Survivorship"
The "right of survivorship" is a legal concept associated with joint ownership of property, particularly in the context of real estate or financial accounts. It refers to the right of a surviving joint owner to inherit the interest or ownership share of a co-owner who passes away. This right is commonly found in joint tenancy and tenancy by the entirety, which are forms of property ownership.
If one owner dies under joint ownership, the other usually inherits the whole property if no compelling documents show otherwise or if no one contest the claims to the property or the money involved in buying the property.
The "right of survivorship" is not limited to real estate properties; it is also common in joint bank accounts and certain types of financial assets. When one account holder dies, the surviving account holder(s) inherit the funds.
"It's important to note that the "right of survivorship" is a feature agreed upon when establishing joint ownership and is not automatically implied." said real estate professional Kiwi Lim from the largest private real estate agency in Singapore - Huttons Asia.
"If one of the joint tenants dies, their ownership interest is usually not subject to probate, which provides a mechanism for a smooth transfer of ownership in the event of a co-owner's death, ensuring that the surviving owner(s) retain full control and ownership of the property or asset. The purpose of the right of survivorship is essentially to help facilitate a seamless transfer of ownership, avoiding the delays and complexities associated with the probate process." said Kiwi Lim who have been studying real estate trends for more than a decade and believe there may be more cases in future as parents buy properties in their children's names under Trust as well as couples who decoupled to save ABSD on their 2nd property, etc.
High Court Judge Clarifies "Right of Survivorship" Misconception
In the case of the East Coast condo property that was listed under joint ownership between the mother and her eldest son - after the mother passed on, the youngest son sued the elder brother in court to claim a share of the East Coast condo property which is now valued to be worth $1.6 million.
The youngest son who was appointed as his deceased mother's legal representative is claiming for his mother's 58% share of the property value to be included among the estate under his mother's name.
The High Court judge noticed there are many people out there who have misconceptions regarding the legal meaning of "right of survivorship" under joint tenancy ownership arrangement for real estate properties and took the opportunity to address this misconception in court.
Justice Coomaraswany say while the surviving owner will become the sole legal owner of a property after the death of the other owner, he would not own it entirely if there was a competing claim for it.
The Judgement
Usually, when a parent holds a property jointly with a child, we normally assume that the parent intends to give the property to the child upon demise, but this assumption can be disputed when there are other children involved who contest against it.
The judge noted that the eldest son was correct when he said that he became the sole legal owner of the property due to his mother's death. "But (he) is wrong when he says that he thereby now also owns the entire beneficial interest in the property. The mother's death had no effect on the beneficial interest she acquired in the property by reason of her unequal contribution to its purchase in 1999." according to the news report.
Justice Coomaraswany, the High Court judge ordered the eldest son to sell the property with the proceeds to be divided based on the parties share value - which means the mother's share of 58% would go into her estate to be divided accordingly among her beneficiaries.
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