Riddle v. Harmon (1980)

a.       Facts- Husband and wife purchased property together as joint tenants. Upon learning that husband will get whole property upon her death, wife sees a lawyer and wants to sever the joint tenancy and convert it to a tenancy in common so she can devise the property to her heirs. The lawyer prepared a grant deed which conveyed her interest in joint tenancy to herself in tenancy in common. Trial Ct found that this method did NOT terminate the joint tenancy, executrix of the wife’s will appeals

b.      Procedural History- Trial Ct finds for Δ in that joint tenancy was NOT destroyed, Π appeals, Cal Ct of appeals reverses

c.       Issue- Whether conveying your interest in joint tenancy to yourself in tenancy in common is enough to terminate a joint tenancy

d.      Holding- Yes, conveying your own interest in joint tenancy to yourself in tenancy in common is enough to terminate a joint tenancy

e.       Rule- One joint tenant may unilaterally sever the joint tenancy without the use of an intermediary device

f.       Rationale-

                                                              i.      Prior to this case, joint tenants would terminate the joint tenancy by conveying their interests in tenancy in common to a third-party, or “straw man”.

                                                            ii.      The Ct reasons that “a joint tenant SHOULD be able to accomplish directly what he or she could otherwise achieve indirectly by use of elaborate legal fictions”

                                                          iii.      The rule of using a “straw man” is archaic and should be done away with

                                                          iv.      A joint tenant has the power/right to convey their interests to another, and if that other is themselves, then so be it

g.      Notes-

                                                              i.      You already have the power to destroy a joint tenancy by conveying interest to a 3^rd party, the Ct is not creating a “new” power…but making it easier to exercise a current power

                                                            ii.      There might be some reasons why we still would need a “straw man”

1.      Recording a deed is NOT necessary for validity of the deed

                                                          iii.      “O to A, B, and C as joint tenants”. A then conveys his interest to D.

1.      The whole joint tenancy is NOT broken…B and C are still joint tenants…D is a tenant in common with B and C (joint tenants).