How you own property matters. Here is a quick explanation of jointly-held assets. First, what are jointly-held assets? When two or more people own property like a home, each person owns a share of the entire property. Thus, they own it together.
Why does it matter how people own property? For one, we want to know what happens to jointly-held assets when someone dies. We especially need to figure out if the property qualifies as probate or non-probate assets. This is because, some properties, on the death of the joint owner, pass immediately to the surviving tenant by operation of law. These pass free of claims of creditors (a good thing!). Others become part of the probate estate. Thus, they are subject to claims of creditors, administration, and distribution (now who wants that?)