partnership vs. joint tenancy

[TK]

My wife and her two brothers own a house in Pennsylvania together through a joint tenancy arrangement. Does such an arrangement provide adequate protection against personal lawsuits? That is, if one of the owners were sued, could a potential judgement against that individual lead to a judgement against the other owners' share in the property and/or other their own personal property?

Is their a better way for them to own this property together?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TK:
My wife and her two brothers own a house in Pennsylvania together through a joint tenancy arrangement. Does such an arrangement provide adequate protection against personal lawsuits? That is, if one of the owners were sued, could a potential judgement against that individual lead to a judgement against the other owners' share in the property and/or other their own personal property?

Is their a better way for them to own this property together?

Your help is greatly appreciated!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Under the joint tenant ownership, if one tenant gets sued for matters not related to the property, the remaining tenants are protected. If there is a judgement and the creditor forces the sale, the property will be sold and the other tenants get their divided share.
Under the joint tenant ownership, if one tenant dies the other tenants automatically get the deceased share. A better way would be to own the property as tenants in common. This way if one tenant dies, the heirs get the share and not the other joint tenants.