Wisconsin Statutes 867.04 – Termination of joint tenancy and life estate
Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 867.04
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
- Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- real property: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
- seal: includes the word "seal" the letters "L S" and a scroll or other device intended to represent a seal, if any is affixed in the proper place for a seal, as well as an impression of a seal on the instrument. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
If a domiciliary of this state dies who immediately prior to death had an estate for life or an interest as a joint tenant in any property, or if a person not domiciled in this state dies having such an interest in property in this state, upon petition of any person interested in the property to the court of the county of domicile of the decedent, or if the decedent was not domiciled in this state, of any county where the property is situated, the court shall issue a certificate, under the seal of the court. The certificate shall set forth the fact of the death of the life or joint tenant, the termination of the life estate or joint tenancy interest, the right of survivorship of any joint tenant and any other facts essential to a determination of the rights of persons interested. The certificate is prima facie evidence of the facts recited, and if the certificate relates to an interest in real property or to a debt that is secured by an interest in real property, a certified copy or duplicate original of the certificate shall be recorded by the petitioner in the office of the register of deeds in each county in this state in which the real property is located.