Property Law Keyed to Dukeminier
Harms v. Sprague
ProfessorTodd Berman
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Two brothers, John and William owned a property in joint tenancy. John used the property to secure a promissory note for a close friend’s purchase of a separate piece of land. John died, leaving William unaware of the existence of the mortgage. William brought suit against the mortgage note holders and the executor of John’s estate. The trial court held that the mortgage severed the joint tenancy and survived as a lien against the undivided one half interest that passed to the estate of John. The appellate court reversed holding that the joint tenancy was not severed and that William owned the property without the mortgage note surviving. The defendant mortgage note holders appealed.
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