Oregon 30-Hour Real Estate Law Practice Test

Upon Oliver's death, how did Rhonda own the old schoolhouse they transformed, given they were joint tenants?

1. As tenants in common

2. In severalty

3. As community property

4. As a life estate

The correct answer is: In severalty

In a joint tenancy, when one of the joint tenants passes away, their share automatically transfers to the surviving joint tenant(s) through the right of survivorship. In this scenario, upon Oliver's death, Rhonda, as the surviving joint tenant, would then own the entire property in severalty, meaning she holds title to the property solely in her name. This transfer is not subject to probate and bypasses other forms of inheritance seen with tenants in common, where ownership would be split among heirs. The other options provide different types of ownership that wouldn’t apply here. Tenants in common implies ownership shares could go to heirs rather than transferring completely to the surviving tenant. Community property refers to a form of ownership between spouses or registered domestic partners, which doesn't apply since Rhonda and Oliver were joint tenants, and a life estate would only give someone the right to use the property during their lifetime without transferring full ownership. Therefore, given the joint tenancy and the subsequent death of Oliver, Rhonda would own the old schoolhouse in severalty.