Background
Shirley Ann Page’s daughter and sole legal heir, Anita Lanctot, brought the action as personal representative of Page’s estate. Jessica Rae Harless was not related to Page but regarded Page as her grandmother. In 2012, Page executed and recorded a quitclaim deed conveying property at 212 Hickory Drive in Troy to herself and Jessica “not as tenants in common, but with full rights of survivorship.”
After Page died in 2023, the estate asserted several claims, including quiet title and deed reformation. It argued that the deed failed to create a joint tenancy because it did not use the words “joint” or “jointly” and therefore created a tenancy in common. The circuit court granted Jessica partial summary disposition on the quiet-title and reformation claims, then transferred the remaining claims to the district court.
The Court’s Holding
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed. Although MCL 554.44 generally presumes that a conveyance to two or more people creates a tenancy in common unless a joint tenancy is expressly declared, the statute does not require particular words. The controlling question is whether the deed clearly expresses the grantor’s intent to create a joint tenancy.
The deed’s phrases “not as tenants in common” and “full rights of survivorship” unambiguously established a joint tenancy with survivorship rights. The court rejected the estate’s argument that “joint” or “jointly” were indispensable terms, explaining that Michigan precedent focuses on clearly expressed intent rather than talismanic language.
Because the deed was unambiguous, the circuit court did not need to consider evidence beyond its text, and no genuine issue of material fact required a trial on the quiet-title or reformation claims.
Key Takeaways
- A Michigan deed need not use the words “joint” or “joint tenancy” to create a joint tenancy.
- Language granting “full rights of survivorship” can establish a joint tenancy with survivorship rights.
- The additional phrase “not as tenants in common” expressly rebuts Michigan’s statutory presumption favoring a tenancy in common.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that Michigan courts determine the estate created by a deed from the grantor’s clearly expressed intent, not from mandatory wording. Express survivorship language, particularly when paired with an express rejection of a tenancy in common, can conclusively establish a joint tenancy.
For property and estate practitioners, the opinion also underscores that unambiguous deed language will ordinarily be enforced as written without resort to outside evidence about the grantor’s intent.