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Paul, Quinn, and Rachel own a commercial property in downtown Salt Lake City as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Which of the following actions would NOT sever the joint tenancy under Utah law?

Correct Answer

C) Rachel executes a will leaving her interest to her children

Executing a will does NOT sever a joint tenancy. A joint tenant cannot devise their joint tenancy interest through a will because the right of survivorship operates at the moment of death — before any testamentary transfer can take effect. Rachel's will purporting to leave her joint tenancy interest to her children is ineffective to sever the joint tenancy during her lifetime. If Rachel dies while the joint tenancy is intact, the right of survivorship gives her interest to Paul and Quinn automatically, and the will has no effect on that interest.

Answer Options
A
Paul conveys his interest to a third-party investor by recorded deed
B
Quinn obtains a court-ordered partition of the property
C
Rachel executes a will leaving her interest to her children
D
Paul takes out a mortgage on his undivided interest and defaults, leading to foreclosure

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

joint_tenancyseverancewill_ineffectivepartitionmortgage_severance

Related Concepts

In a cooperative (co-op), the building is owned by a corporation, and residents purchase shares of stock in the corporation that entitle them to a proprietary lease on a specific unit. Residents are shareholders, not property owners.

Fee simple absolute is the highest and most complete form of property ownership, giving the owner unrestricted rights to use, possess, enjoy, and dispose of the property. It is of unlimited duration and fully inheritable.

Community property is a system where property acquired during a marriage is owned equally by both spouses.

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