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MEDICAL SERVICES POLICY MANUAL, SECTION E

E 512 Forms of Ownership

5. Report of Title Search. Questions of title, ownership, and property interest which cannot be resolved by the county office will be submitted through eDoctus to the Medicaid Eligibility Unit for an opinion from the Office of Chief Counsel (OCC). (Re. MS E-501) Forms of Ownership MS Manual 10/26/15 The different forms of ownership are listed below: 1. Fee Simple Ownership - When property is held in fee simple, the owner has sole ownership interest. He alone (or his legal guardian if mentally incompetent) may sell or transfer ownership interest without conditions imposed by others. 2. Shared Ownership - Shared ownership means thatownership interest in property is vested with more than one person. There are three basic types of shared ownership. a. Joint Tenancy -In joint tenancy, each of two or more joint tenants has an equal interest in the whole property for the duration of the tenancy. On the death of one joint tenant, the survivor becomes sole owner. b. Tenancy-in-Common - In tenancy-in-common, two ormore persons have an undivided fractional interest in the whole property for the duration of the tenancy. There is no right to survivorship to a tenancy-in-common. c. Tenancy-by-the-Entirety - Tenancy-by-the-entirety results when a conveyance is made to a couple. Each member of the couple is considered the owner of the entire estate. After the death of one, the survivor becomes owner of the entire estate. Real estate owned by a married couple by the entirety can be sold only by the consent of both parties. In the case of divorce, former spouses become tenants-in-common of the property, and either person can market his half share, unless conditions in the divorce decree specify otherwise. 3. Life Estates a. Life Estates - A life estate conveys to an individual or individuals certain rights in property which expire upon the death of the owner or of another person. The