An Act To Clarify the Method of Creating or Severing Joint Tenancy

Sec. 1. 33 MRSA §159,  as amended by PL 1973, c. 788, §164, is further amended to read:

§ 159. Conveyances to 2 or more persons

Conveyances not in mortgage and devises of land to 2 or more persons create estates in common, unless otherwise expressed. Deeds in which 2 or more grantees anywhere in the conveyances are named as joint tenants shall or named as having the right of survivorship or that otherwise indicate anywhere in the conveyances by appropriate language the intent to create a joint tenancy between such grantees must be construed as vesting an estate in fee simple in such grantees with right of survivorship. Deeds in which the grantor is named as a grantee or as a grantee with another or others must be construed as vesting an estate in fee simple in such grantee or grantees including the grantor, unless otherwise expressed.

A conveyance of real property by the owner thereof of the real property to himself the owner and another or others, or by the owners thereof of the real property to themselves the owners or to themselves the owners and another or others, as joint tenants or with the right of survivorship, or which that otherwise indicates anywhere in the conveyance by appropriate language the intent to create a joint tenancy between such owner or owners and such other or others or between themselves the owners by such the conveyance, shall create including language such as "as joint tenants," "in joint tenancy," "as joint tenants with rights of survivorship," "with rights of survivorship," "to them and to the survivor of them," "to them and their assigns and to the survivor and the heirs and assigns of the survivor forever" or "as tenants by the entirety," creates an estate in joint tenancy in the property so conveyed between all of the grantees, including the grantor. Estates in joint tenancy so created shall have and possess all of the attributes and incidents of estates in joint tenancy created or existing at common law and the rights and liabilities of the tenants in estates in joint tenancy so created shall be are the same as in estates in joint tenancy created or existing at common law.

A conveyance of real property by an owner or owners of the real property holding in joint tenancy to the owner or to the owner and another or others, or to the owners or to the owners and another or others, as tenants in common, or that otherwise indicates anywhere in the conveyance by appropriate language the intent to create a tenancy in common or the intent to sever the joint tenancy between the owner or owners and such other or others or between the owners by the conveyance, or without expression of the tenancy created or without other expression of joint tenancy or right of survivorship, creates an estate in common in the property so conveyed between all of the grantees, including the grantor, or between the sole grantee and the other owner or owners.