JOINT OWNER is, in English law, a person who is one of several owners of property. The property may be either personal or real, goods or laud. One of the characteristics of this ownership is, that if one of the parties dies, his interest accrues to the others, and does not go to the deceased co-owner's heirs or representatives. Thus, if A and B are joint owners of a horse; and A. dies, the horse then belongs entirely to B. So it is with real property, such as houses, lands, and estates. This is called the doctrine of survivorship. Sometimes in wills and deeds it is not clearly expressed whether the property was given to A and B as joint tenants or owners, or as tenants in common. The chief difference between these two descriptions of owners is, that if one tenant in common dies, his share does not go to the other tenants in 'common, but belongs to his representatives or heirs. Hence, in doubtful cases, a court of equity generally inclines to hold that a tenancy in common was meant rather than a joint tenancy. for the former is the more fair of the two kinds of ownership. In all cases, however, it is in the power
of a joint owner to convert his joint tenancy into a tenancy in common, by simply executing a deed of partition or alienation, if the property consist of land; or selling his share, if it consist of personalty. And there is an exception as to the survivorship in the case of a firm of partners, for in that case, when one partner dies, his share does not accrue to his co-partners, but belongs to his own personal representatives. This is said to be an exception to the general rule of joint ownership, created for the benefit of trade, so that, in the case of a firm, the ownership is an ownership iu common, and not joint ownership. In Scotland the general rule is different from what prevails in Eng land, and joint property is there always equivalent to what is called in England property held in common, and not joint in the above sense. It requires express words in Scot land to make the property be held so as to be equivalent to what is joint property in England.