A reader shared he was left “victimized, terrorized and traumatized” from what he referred to as eight years of “legal terrorism” related to a fight over his father’s estate.

He challenged me to write about avoiding probate to protect others against such an outcome.

I’ve taken up that challenge. This is the fourth of a series. If you haven’t been following along, I recommend starting at the beginning. Let me know if you have difficulty finding the other columns and I’ll help you.

Last week I explained there are three types of joint tenancy. I then described the most common, which is how most couples own their home.

I gave it a label—shared ownership with survivorship because ownership is truly shared. Each owner has the same beneficial interest in the property. Also, each owner has the right of survivorship.

To understand the difference between this type of joint tenancy and the other types, it’s important to understand how it’s possible to own something yet not have a........

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