- Official section
- National I.C: Types of Ownership
- Broker weight
- Part of 10% of the national portion
- Expected scored items
- The current PSI broker outline assigns about 10 of 100 scored national items to Property Ownership
Property Ownership exam concept
Severalty vs. tenancy in common vs. joint tenancy
Count the owners first, then ask what happens at death. One owner points to severalty. Multiple owners without survivorship point to tenancy in common. Multiple owners with a valid survivorship estate point to joint tenancy. After classification, analyze shares, possession, transfer, creditors, and partition.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
What is the difference at a glance?
Short answer: Severalty is ownership by one legal person or entity. Tenancy in common and joint tenancy are concurrent forms in which each co-owner holds an undivided interest and a possessory right in the whole, subject to the equal rights of the others. Tenancy-in-common shares can be unequal and pass through each owner's estate rather than by survivorship. Joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship, is traditionally associated with equal interests and the four unities, and can be severed as to a transferred share. Illinois generally treats a multi-grantee conveyance as tenancy in common unless the instrument expressly creates joint tenancy or another recognized estate.
This guide follows the ownership-in-severalty and concurrent-ownership content in the national PSI outline effective June 24, 2026. Illinois Public Act 104-40, effective January 1, 2026, amended relevant conveyance and joint-tenancy provisions and is reflected in the current Joint Tenancy Act source. Estate planning, creditor priority, marital homestead rights, entity authority, probate, tax, partition, and severance can change results. Sources were checked through August 1, 2026. This is exam preparation, not vesting advice.
What changes from one term to the next?
- Terms
- Severalty vs. concurrent ownership
- Difference
- Severalty has one legal owner. Concurrent ownership has two or more owners holding interests at the same time.
- Question cue
- One titleholder versus multiple titleholders.
- Terms
- Tenancy in common vs. joint tenancy
- Difference
- Tenancy in common has inheritable shares and no automatic survivorship. Joint tenancy includes survivorship while it remains unsevered.
- Question cue
- Estate transfer versus survivor transfer.
- Terms
- Undivided interest vs. physical division
- Difference
- An undivided interest reaches the whole property with coequal possession. Physical division creates separate parcels or allocated areas through lawful documents.
- Question cue
- Fraction of title versus mapped tract.
- Terms
- Ownership percentage vs. possession right
- Difference
- A percentage controls the economic share. Each tenant in common or joint tenant generally has a right to possess the whole subject to other co-owners' rights.
- Question cue
- Money fraction versus shared occupancy.
- Terms
- Survivorship vs. inheritance
- Difference
- Survivorship passes title through the ownership estate at death. Inheritance passes the decedent's interest through a will or intestate succession.
- Question cue
- Operation of title versus estate plan.
- Terms
- Joint-tenancy creation vs. equal contribution
- Difference
- Joint tenancy depends on valid vesting language and legal requirements, not merely that buyers paid equal amounts.
- Question cue
- Deed estate versus purchase math.
- Terms
- Severance vs. partition
- Difference
- Severance changes a joint-tenancy relationship, often for one share. Partition divides or sells co-owned property and distributes the interests or proceeds.
- Question cue
- Change survivorship versus end co-ownership.
- Terms
- Co-owner vs. occupant
- Difference
- A co-owner appears in legal title. An occupant may be a tenant, family member, manager, or guest with possession but no ownership share.
- Question cue
- Vesting versus physical presence.
- Terms
- Entity ownership vs. owner membership
- Difference
- Property titled solely to an LLC is held in severalty by the LLC even if several people own membership interests in that entity.
- Question cue
- One legal entity versus multiple investors.
- Terms
- Title share vs. debt responsibility
- Difference
- The deed states ownership. A note, mortgage, guarantee, judgment, or agreement determines debt obligations and lien consequences.
- Question cue
- Property interest versus personal promise.
How does the distinction change the answer?
LLC as sole grantee
Scenario: A deed conveys an apartment building to Lakeview Housing LLC. Four investors are members of the LLC.
- The deed names one legal owner: the LLC.
- Members own interests in the entity rather than direct deeded fractions of the building.
- The number of investors does not make the real estate a tenancy in common.
Answer: The LLC holds the property in severalty.
Unequal co-ownership without survivorship
Scenario: A deed conveys 70 percent to Priya and 30 percent to Marcos as tenants in common.
- The deed states unequal fractional interests and the tenancy-in-common form.
- Both owners have undivided possession rights in the property.
- Each share can pass through its owner's estate rather than automatically to the other owner.
Answer: This is tenancy in common with 70-percent and 30-percent economic shares.
Deed names two people but no estate
Scenario: An Illinois deed conveys a home to Elena Ruiz and Noah Kim. It states no percentages and contains no joint-tenancy or survivorship declaration.
- There are two grantees, so title is concurrent.
- Illinois generally treats the conveyance as tenancy in common unless another estate is expressly created.
- Equal names alone do not supply a right of survivorship.
Answer: The exam answer is tenancy in common under the Illinois default rule.
Joint tenant dies
Scenario: Three owners hold valid joint tenancy. One dies with a will leaving all property to a niece, and no severance occurred before death.
- The joint tenancy includes survivorship.
- The deceased owner's joint interest passes to the surviving joint tenants through the estate's title feature.
- The will does not defeat the surviving joint tenants' ownership of that interest.
Answer: The two surviving joint tenants retain the property, subject to title documentation and other valid claims.
One joint tenant conveys
Scenario: A, B, and C own in joint tenancy. A conveys A's interest to D during A's life.
- The conveyance can sever the joint tenancy as to A's former share.
- D commonly holds that share as tenant in common with B and C.
- B and C can remain joint tenants with each other as to their continuing shares.
Answer: The ownership can become a mixed structure, so do not say the entire estate necessarily becomes tenancy in common.
Co-owners cannot agree to sell
Scenario: Four tenants in common inherit land. Two want to sell, one wants a physical division, and one refuses every proposal.
- No co-owner can convey the others' shares without authority.
- The co-owners can negotiate a sale, buyout, or voluntary division.
- An interested owner may seek statutory partition if agreement fails, subject to the applicable procedure and any heirs-property rules.
Answer: Partition is the legal remedy designed to resolve deadlocked co-ownership.
The C-D-T method for ownership-form questions
- Count: identify the legal owners shown by the deed or other vesting instrument, not the occupants or contributors.
- Declaration: read whether title expressly states joint tenancy, tenancy in common, percentages, survivorship, or another estate.
- Death: decide whether the interest passes to a survivor or through the deceased owner's estate.
- Transfer: analyze whether one owner can convey a share and whether that act severs survivorship.
- Together: determine each owner's right to possess, share income and expenses, manage, and avoid excluding the others.
- Termination: identify voluntary sale, buyout, partition, severance, death, entity action, foreclosure, or another event and obtain professional review.
- Feature
- Number of owners
- Severalty
- One
- Tenancy in common
- Two or more
- Joint tenancy
- Two or more
- Feature
- Undivided interests
- Severalty
- Not applicable
- Tenancy in common
- Yes
- Joint tenancy
- Yes
- Feature
- Shares
- Severalty
- Entire title
- Tenancy in common
- Equal or unequal
- Joint tenancy
- Traditionally equal
- Feature
- Survivorship
- Severalty
- No co-owner
- Tenancy in common
- No
- Joint tenancy
- Yes
- Feature
- At owner's death
- Severalty
- Estate or other transfer
- Tenancy in common
- Estate or other transfer
- Joint tenancy
- Surviving joint tenants
- Feature
- Transfer during life
- Severalty
- Whole or partial title
- Tenancy in common
- Owner's fractional share
- Joint tenancy
- Can sever affected share
- Feature
- Partition
- Severalty
- Not a co-owner remedy
- Tenancy in common
- Available
- Joint tenancy
- Available
- Feature
- Illinois multi-owner default
- Severalty
- Not applicable
- Tenancy in common
- Generally yes
- Joint tenancy
- Must be expressly created
Where do similar terms create traps?
- Trap
- Severalty means an unmarried owner
- Correction
- Severalty means one legal owner. That owner may be married, unmarried, widowed, or an entity.
- Trap
- An LLC with many members is tenancy in common
- Correction
- If the LLC alone holds the deed, the real estate has one legal owner and is held in severalty.
- Trap
- A 25-percent owner may use only one quarter of the building
- Correction
- An undivided owner has a possessory right in the whole subject to the other co-owners' equal rights and agreements.
- Trap
- All tenants in common own equal shares
- Correction
- Tenancy-in-common shares can be equal or unequal and should be confirmed from the title instrument.
- Trap
- Two names automatically create joint tenancy
- Correction
- Illinois generally defaults to tenancy in common unless joint tenancy or another recognized estate is expressly created.
- Trap
- Joint tenancy and tenancy in common both have survivorship
- Correction
- Survivorship distinguishes joint tenancy. A tenant-in-common interest follows the owner's estate-transfer path.
- Trap
- A will overrides joint-tenancy survivorship
- Correction
- A will transfers probate-estate property. An unsevered joint interest passes to survivors by the ownership estate.
- Trap
- One joint tenant's transfer always destroys every joint relationship
- Correction
- The transfer can sever the affected share while the remaining original owners may continue as joint tenants with each other.
- Trap
- A co-owner can sell the whole property alone
- Correction
- A co-owner can generally transfer only that owner's interest unless authorized to act for the others or completing a court process.
- Trap
- Partition always means drawing new lot lines
- Correction
- A court can order sale and divide proceeds when physical division is impractical or legally inappropriate.
- Trap
- The person paying the mortgage owns the property
- Correction
- Payment can create accounting or contribution questions, but deed vesting identifies legal ownership.
- Trap
- A broker should recommend the best vesting
- Correction
- Vesting affects survivorship, probate, creditor, tax, marital, and control rights. Parties need qualified legal and tax advice.
Can you separate the terms in a new fact pattern?
These questions are original study items aligned to the published outline. They are not copied, recalled, or predicted PSI questions.
1. A corporation is the only grantee on a deed, although it has 12 shareholders. How is the real estate held?
- Tenancy in common
- Joint tenancy
- Severalty
- Tenancy by the entirety
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Severalty
The corporation is one legal owner. Shareholders own corporate interests, not direct deeded interests in the parcel.
2. Which ownership form permits unequal undivided shares and has no automatic right of survivorship?
- Severalty
- Tenancy in common
- Joint tenancy
- Life estate
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Tenancy in common
Tenants in common can own unequal fractions, and each owner's interest passes through that owner's estate or another valid transfer.
3. Two unrelated people take title under an Illinois deed that states no ownership form. What is the general default?
- Joint tenancy
- Tenancy in common
- Tenancy by the entirety
- Severalty
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Tenancy in common
Illinois generally requires express creation of joint tenancy. A multi-grantee conveyance without that declaration is generally tenancy in common.
4. What feature most directly distinguishes joint tenancy from tenancy in common?
- A right to possess the property
- A recorded deed
- A right of survivorship
- The ability to incur expenses
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A right of survivorship
Both forms involve undivided co-ownership and possession rights. Joint tenancy adds survivorship while the estate remains valid and unsevered.
5. A joint tenant conveys that tenant's interest to a buyer. What is the most likely ownership effect?
- The buyer automatically owns the entire property
- The transfer can sever joint tenancy as to that share
- The deed is always void without every co-owner's signature
- All remaining owners lose possession immediately
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The transfer can sever joint tenancy as to that share
The transferee commonly becomes a tenant in common as to the transferred interest. Joint tenancy can continue among remaining joint tenants, depending on the structure and law.
Where do these ideas appear on the outline?
- Topic
- Ownership in severalty
- What to know
- One owner, individual, corporation, LLC, partnership entity, trust trustee, sole title, entire bundle, possession, transfer, devise, mortgage, lease, and no co-owner
- Best exam move
- Count legal titleholders, not occupants, shareholders, members, beneficiaries, or spouses who are absent from the vesting language.
- Topic
- Severalty does not mean single
- What to know
- Married individual, unmarried individual, widowed individual, entity, sole grantee, marital rights, homestead, spouse signature, title, and number of owners
- Best exam move
- Do not infer marital status from severalty; it means ownership severed from co-owners.
- Topic
- Tenancy in common structure
- What to know
- Two or more owners, undivided interest, fractional share, whole property, equal possession, no survivorship, heirs, devisees, transfer, mortgage, partition, and default vesting
- Best exam move
- Choose tenancy in common when multiple owners have inheritable shares and no valid survivorship language.
- Topic
- Unequal tenancy-in-common shares
- What to know
- 50 percent, 25 percent, stated fraction, contribution, proceeds, rent, expenses, accounting, taxes, mortgage, improvements, agreement, and undivided possession
- Best exam move
- Separate economic percentage from physical possession; a 25-percent co-owner does not receive only 25 percent of the rooms.
- Topic
- Joint tenancy structure
- What to know
- Two or more owners, undivided interest, equal interest, survivorship, survivor, death, nonprobate transfer, express declaration, deed, severance, and remaining joint tenants
- Best exam move
- Look for express joint-tenancy and survivorship creation rather than assuming it from equal ownership.
- Topic
- Four unities
- What to know
- Time, title, interest, possession, same instrument, simultaneous acquisition, equal nature and duration, undivided possession, traditional rule, statutory creation, and severance
- Best exam move
- Use PITT as the traditional memory aid: possession, interest, time, and title.
- Topic
- Right of possession
- What to know
- Undivided right, whole property, occupancy, access, exclusion, ouster, rent, agreement, rooms, floors, parking, management, tenant, and accounting
- Best exam move
- A fractional title share does not by itself assign a specific physical portion to one co-owner.
- Topic
- Death in tenancy in common
- What to know
- Will, devise, heir, intestacy, estate, probate, personal representative, beneficiary, step-up, debt, title transfer, and no survivorship
- Best exam move
- Send the deceased tenant's fraction to the estate path, not automatically to the surviving co-owner.
- Topic
- Death in joint tenancy
- What to know
- Right of survivorship, surviving joint tenant, death certificate, affidavit, record title, lien, severance before death, simultaneous death, probate estate, and last survivor
- Best exam move
- Apply survivorship only after confirming that the joint tenancy remained valid and unsevered at death.
- Topic
- Transfer by tenant in common
- What to know
- Deed, sale, gift, mortgage, devise, fractional interest, transferee, existing co-owners, right of first refusal, co-ownership agreement, consent, title, and partition
- Best exam move
- A tenant in common can generally transfer that owner's share without converting the other owners' shares into severalty.
- Topic
- Joint-tenancy severance
- What to know
- Conveyance, mortgage theory, contract, partition, agreement, creditor sale, divorce order, one share, transferee, tenant in common, remaining joint tenants, and survivorship
- Best exam move
- A transfer can sever survivorship for the affected share while joint tenancy may continue among other owners.
- Topic
- Partition
- What to know
- Voluntary division, partition deed, court action, physical division, partition in kind, judicial sale, proceeds, appraisal, liens, costs, heirs property, and co-owner right
- Best exam move
- Use partition when co-owners cannot agree whether to keep, divide, or sell the property.
- Topic
- Co-ownership agreements
- What to know
- Use, possession, management, voting, repairs, taxes, insurance, mortgage, rent, improvements, sale, first refusal, buyout, death, dispute, and partition waiver limits
- Best exam move
- The vesting form supplies baseline rights, while a separate agreement can organize day-to-day economics and decision making.
- Topic
- Income and expense allocation
- What to know
- Rent, net income, ownership share, occupancy credit, tax, insurance, mortgage, repair, capital improvement, contribution, reimbursement, accounting, and agreement
- Best exam move
- Do not assume the person managing or occupying the property owns a larger title share without supporting documents.
- Topic
- Creditors and liens
- What to know
- Individual debt, judgment lien, mortgage, co-owner share, foreclosure, involuntary transfer, severance, property debt, priority, title commitment, homestead, and bankruptcy
- Best exam move
- Identify whose obligation created the lien and which ownership interest it can reach before predicting the effect on co-owners.
- Topic
- Deed wording
- What to know
- Grantor, grantee, vesting clause, percentage, tenancy in common, joint tenancy, not in tenancy in common, right of survivorship, severalty, marital status, legal description, and recording
- Best exam move
- Read the exact vesting language because informal intentions and purchase contributions do not replace the deed.
- Topic
- Title and closing review
- What to know
- Current deed, vesting, death, probate, divorce, trust, entity, authorization, liens, judgments, mortgage, partition, title commitment, signatures, survey, and attorney
- Best exam move
- Confirm every owner, share, authority, encumbrance, and required signature before promising that a transfer can close.
- Topic
- Choosing a vesting form
- What to know
- Survivorship goal, estate plan, contribution, unequal shares, marriage, creditor exposure, control, transfer freedom, tax, probate, partition, business purpose, and professional advice
- Best exam move
- A licensee can explain basic vocabulary but should not select legal or tax consequences for the parties.
How do you make the distinction stick?
- Session
- Session 1
- Focus
- Count legal owners
- Proof you are ready
- Classify 20 deeds as severalty or concurrent ownership without being distracted by occupants, spouses, shareholders, or contributors.
- Session
- Session 2
- Focus
- Master tenancy in common
- Proof you are ready
- Explain unequal shares, undivided possession, lifetime transfer, inheritance, income, expenses, and partition with six original examples.
- Session
- Session 3
- Focus
- Master joint tenancy
- Proof you are ready
- Draw the four unities, express creation, survivorship, deed transfer, severance, and last-survivor result from memory.
- Session
- Session 4
- Focus
- Compare death and transfer
- Proof you are ready
- Resolve 12 scenarios involving wills, intestacy, survivorship, one-owner deeds, fractional transfers, liens, and death timing.
- Session
- Session 5
- Focus
- Control partition and co-owner rights
- Proof you are ready
- Match buyout, voluntary sale, physical division, judicial sale, accounting, and professional referral to eight disputes.
- Session
- Session 6
- Focus
- Run the C-D-T method
- Proof you are ready
- Score at least 90% and state count, declaration, death result, transfer effect, together rights, and termination for every miss.
Do not count recognition as mastery. Close the notes and explain the rule, apply it to a new fact pattern, and identify why each distractor fails.
Turn the comparison into a test-day decision
From concept to decision
Drill this topic, then review the explanation
Pass Illinois gives you original national and Illinois questions, topic-by-topic study, clear explanations, timed practice, flashcards, progress tracking, and Math Coach. Start free, find the weak distinction, and focus the next session there.
Questions students ask about Severalty vs. Tenancy in Common vs. Joint Tenancy
What is ownership in severalty?
Ownership in severalty means title is held by one legal owner. That owner can be an individual or a legal entity such as a corporation or limited liability company. The term describes the number of owners, not the individual's marital status.
What is tenancy in common?
Tenancy in common is concurrent ownership in which each co-owner holds an undivided fractional interest in the whole property. Shares can be equal or unequal, each owner has a right to possess the whole subject to the equal rights of the others, and no automatic right of survivorship attaches.
What is joint tenancy?
Joint tenancy is concurrent ownership with a right of survivorship. When one joint tenant dies, that interest passes to the surviving joint tenant or tenants by operation of the estate rather than through the deceased owner's will, subject to valid severance and other title issues.
What is the default co-ownership form in Illinois?
Under the Illinois Joint Tenancy Act, a conveyance to multiple grantees is generally deemed a tenancy in common unless the instrument expressly declares the property to pass not in tenancy in common but in joint tenancy or validly creates another recognized estate.
Can tenants in common own unequal shares?
Yes. One tenant in common might own 60 percent and another 40 percent, or several owners may hold other stated fractions. The ownership percentage affects economic rights, but each co-owner still has an undivided interest rather than a separately owned physical room or strip unless the land is legally divided.
Do joint tenants have equal interests?
Traditional joint-tenancy analysis uses equal interests along with the unities of time, title, interest, and possession. Modern statutes and conveyancing rules affect creation, so exam questions should begin with the deed language and right of survivorship rather than relying on informal labels.
What happens when a tenant in common dies?
The deceased co-owner's interest passes through the owner's estate plan or intestate succession, subject to probate and title rules. It does not automatically pass to the other tenants in common merely because they already own the property.
Can a joint tenant transfer an interest?
A joint tenant can generally transfer that tenant's interest, but the transfer can sever the joint tenancy as to that share. The transferee commonly becomes a tenant in common with the remaining owner or owners. The exact deed, timing, liens, and state law require review.
Can a co-owner force a sale or division?
Illinois partition law generally allows an interested co-owner in joint tenancy, tenancy in common, or another co-ownership form to seek partition, subject to statutory procedures and special rules such as those for qualifying heirs property. A court may divide property when practical or order a sale and distribute proceeds.
Are these official PSI exam questions?
No. They are original questions aligned to the national Property Ownership outline effective June 24, 2026. Current Illinois joint-tenancy, conveyance, partition, and homestead sources were reviewed through August 1, 2026.
Primary sources
- PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
- 765 ILCS 1005, current Illinois Joint Tenancy Act
- 735 ILCS 5, Article XVII, current Illinois partition law
- 735 ILCS 5/17-102, interests and estates addressed in partition
- 765 ILCS 5, current Illinois Conveyances Act
- 735 ILCS 5/12-901, current Illinois homestead provision
The current official outline controls the tested scope. Statutes, regulations, and official agency materials control when a general study rule and a jurisdiction-specific rule differ.
Editorial status
Checked against primary sources
The Pass Illinois editorial team last checked this guide on August 1, 2026. Every practice question is an original study item, and the source links above let you verify the rules that support the lesson.