In legal contexts, “joint” typically refers to a situation involving multiple parties acting together or sharing certain rights, obligations, or liabilities.
Pertaining to multiple parties on the same side of an agreement or transaction.
adj., adv. referring to property, rights or obligations which are united, undivided and shared by two or more persons or entities. Thus, a joint property held by both cannot be effectively transferred unless all owners join in the transaction. If a creditor sues to collect a joint debt, he/she must include all the debtors in the lawsuit, unless the debt is specifically “joint and several,” meaning any one of the debtors may be individually liable. Therefore, care must be taken in drafting deeds, sales agreements, promissory notes, joint venture agreements and other documents. A joint tenancy is treated specially, since it includes the right of the survivor to get the entire property when the other dies (right of survivorship).
Joint is a term that refers to two things being connected and is commonly used in the financial world.
Joint ownership describes the ownership by two of more parties. Similarly, joint tenancy is a form of joint ownership where two or more parties or individuals share equal rights in and control of a property. Joint tenancy is a common form of ownership as related to savings accounts. Closely resembling joint tenancy is a joint venture. In a joint venture, two or more firms share the responsibilities and also the profits and losses of a contract. Another example is the joint-stock company. A joint-stock company is a unique entity that resembles a corporation and a partnership, having features of both. Like a corporation, a joint-stock company is made up of shareholders. Under the umbrella of a joint-stock company, all shareholders have unlimited liability, yet the company’s stock is fully transferable. There is also the term joint and several obligations, which is a debt entered into by two or more borrowers. Each of the joint borrowers is obligated and liable for repaying the full amount of the joint debt. Examples of joint and several obligations are bonds and discount notes sold by the Office of Finance.
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This glossary post was last updated: 29th March, 2024.
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