Tax Tips: Creating joint ownership

For reasons unknown, many property owners continue to add the names of children and family members to the title of their property without thinking through the long- or short-term consequences.

The type of ownership that many seem to favor is a "joint tenancy" arrangement - a convenient way to ensure that certain assets will ultimately pass to family members without the need for probate and other costs. Joint tenancy - referred to as joint ownership with survivorship rights - is usually a good idea for husbands and wives.

However, with nonspouses a joint-tenancy plan could have costly consequences when it is used as a...