Promises

There was a time when most people heard about prenuptial agreements only when watching soap operas or Hollywood movies or reading a novel. For many of us, prenuptial agreements seemed to be reserved only for the ultrawealthy, where the continuation of dynastic family wealth was at stake.

One of the most common forms of property ownership in the United States is joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS or joint tenancy). But what is joint tenancy? Joint tenancy is a legal right to property that provides the owner an undivided right to the enjoyment of the property. In other words, one joint tenant cannot legally stop the other joint tenant from enjoying use of the entire property. The “WROS” part of JTWROS means that when one joint tenant dies, the deceased joint tenant’s share of the property automatically passes to the other joint tenant without the need for probate or other formal proceedings.

This survivorship feature of joint tenancy makes it very attractive to married couples and individuals who want to jointly own property with another person (like an adult child) without additional estate planning documents or sending their joint owner through the time-consuming and costly probate process.
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Legendary Oscar-winning actor Marlon Brando left the bulk of his estate (worth approximately $26 million) to his producer and other associates. 

Brando created a valid last will and testament. However, he did not include his longtime housekeeper Angela Borlaza – who later sued alleging that Brando promised that she would inherit a home from him when he died.

A Promise Is A Promise…

While a promise is a promise, not all promises are legally equal.  In the courtroom, an oral promise is usually not treated the same as a written promise.
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