Randy called his friend Billy and asked him to come over immediately because Ran

Question

Randy called his friend Billy and asked him to come over immediately because Randy had suffered a stroke and might be dying. In their telephone conversation Randy advised Billy that he wanted to give Billy his gold watch. Immediately after their telephone conversation, Randy wrote out a will that left his share in Blackacre to Billy. Blackacre was the marital home of Randy and Connie, who owned the home as tenants by the entirety. Randy died before John arrived at Blackacre. John claims the watch and a share in the home. Connie contests both matters. Decide as to who wins and why.

Explanation / Answer

Since Randy promised Billy about the gold watch, Billy should get the watch. Although Randy wrote a will which left his share in Blackacre to Billy, it cannot be transferred. That is because, when a property is owned by joint tenants, the interest of a deceased owner automatically gets transferred to the remaining surviving owners.

For example, if three joint tenants own a house and one of them dies, the two remaining tenants each obtain a one-half share of the property. In this case, Randy's share of home goes to Connie, but not to Billy. Connie will be legal heir to Blackacre.

John will not have any share in the watch nor in the home.

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