Joint-tenancy / TIC agreement
Co-ownership terms for two or more owners of Kentucky real property.
What this document does
A joint-tenancy or tenants-in-common agreement is a written contract between two or more co-owners of Kentucky real property setting out their rights, responsibilities, and exit terms.
Common situations: unmarried partners buying a home together, siblings inheriting jointly, friends or business partners purchasing investment property. The Kentucky default rules (KRS 381.120 governs joint tenants, partition, and survivorship; KRS 381.130 sets out the exceptions to 381.120) cover the basics, but they don't address what happens when one owner wants to sell, when the relationship changes, or when one owner falls behind on contributions.
Why this is bundled with attorney drafting
A co-ownership agreement that touches title to Kentucky real property requires attorney drafting under Frazee v. Citizens Fidelity, 393 S.W.2d 778 (Ky. 1965). The $129 covers Johnson Legal's intake processing and Elton Johnson's drafting and verification of the specific agreement for your property and your co-owners.
What's included
Form of ownership (joint tenancy with right of survivorship vs. tenancy in common). Allocation of contributions and ongoing expenses. Buyout mechanism if a co-owner wants to exit. Right-of-first-refusal terms. What happens on death, divorce, or financial distress of a co-owner. Dispute-resolution path.
Kentucky statute
What happens after you start
Your draft is assembled from your answers, reviewed by Elton Johnson before delivery, and sent to you via secure one-time-use download link. The delivery includes the document itself, a Kentucky-specific wet-ink execution instructions packet, and a receipt.
The information on this page is general — it is not legal advice for your specific situation. Bluegrass Cornerstone is a service of Johnson Legal PLLC, a Kentucky law firm. When you engage Cornerstone, you engage Johnson Legal PLLC under a standard attorney-client relationship.
What you are agreeing to when you engage the Firm for this document
About this engagement
Bluegrass Cornerstone is the law firm Johnson Legal operating under the Cornerstone brand. Engaging the Firm for the document described on this page creates an attorney-client relationship governed by the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct, SCR 3.130. The Firm’s intake system is attorney-authored and attorney-supervised. The intake system explains statutory terms and collects facts; it does not recommend instruments or give legal advice. Elton Johnson, the Firm’s Kentucky-admitted supervising attorney, personally reviews every document the Firm generates before delivery (KBA Ethics Opinion E-457, March 2024).
Statutory authority — Joint Tenancy / Tenancy in Common Agreement
The Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in Common Agreement drafted under this engagement is governed by general Kentucky contract law and by KRS 381.130 (Exceptions to KRS 381.120). KRS 381.120 sets Kentucky’s default rule against survivorship in joint estates; KRS 381.130 preserves the survivorship-on-death right where the parties’ instrument manifestly intends it. For real property held as joint tenants, KRS 381.130(2) permits partition during the joint tenants’ lifetimes by deed or other recorded instrument, except for residential real property owned by spouses occupying it as their principal residence (KRS 381.130(2)(b)). The Firm’s deliverable is the Agreement between co-owners; recording any deed (a real-property conveyance) is outside this engagement’s scope.
Flat fee, advance fee
The price displayed on this page is a flat fee, designated as an advance fee under SCR 3.130(1.5)(f). The Client provides informed consent to the flat fee by signing the Engagement Letter that appears immediately before payment. If the Firm cannot complete the named document, the advance fee is refunded in full. If the Client terminates the engagement before delivery, the advance fee is refunded minus a reasonable charge for work already performed (SCR 3.130(1.16)(d)).
Confidentiality
Information the Client shares with the Firm during intake and throughout the engagement is protected by the attorney-client confidentiality duty under SCR 3.130(1.6). The Firm does not reveal information relating to the representation except with informed consent, where impliedly authorized to carry out the representation, or where SCR 3.130(1.6)(b) permits or requires disclosure.
Scope limit — no litigation
Engagement for the document described on this page is limited to drafting that specific document. It does NOT include representation in any litigation, dispute, contested matter, court proceeding, administrative proceeding, or negotiation with third parties. If a dispute or litigation arises, a separate engagement is required.
Copyright and Authored Work
This page and the legal explanations, intake-tree logic, document templates, and plain-language definitions presented in the Cornerstone catalog are © 2026 Johnson Legal d/b/a Bluegrass Cornerstone. All rights reserved. This copyright notice and the attribution of authorship to Johnson Legal are copyright management information (“CMI”) under 17 U.S.C. § 1202(c). Per 17 U.S.C. § 1202(a), no person may knowingly and with the intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement provide copyright management information that is false, or distribute or import for distribution copyright management information that is false. Per 17 U.S.C. § 1202(b), no person may intentionally remove or alter this CMI, or distribute works knowing this CMI has been removed or altered, without the Firm’s authorization or other legal authority.
The Engagement Letter you will sign before payment
This is the substance of the Engagement Letter you will be asked to sign at the end of intake, before any payment is taken. The Firm posts it on this page so you can read it before starting intake. The full executable copy is presented during intake and signed via DocuSign.
Parties
This Engagement Letter is between Johnson Legal d/b/a Bluegrass Cornerstone (“the Firm”) and the Client identified at signing (“Client”). The Firm’s supervising attorney is Elton Johnson, admitted to practice law in Kentucky.
Disclosure of the attorney-supervised intake system
The Firm uses an attorney-authored, attorney-supervised intake system to collect facts and explain statutory terms. The intake system explains; it does not recommend instruments or give legal advice. Elton Johnson personally reviews each generated document before delivery. Per KBA Ethics Opinion E-457 (March 2024), the use of generative AI tools in this matter does not change the attorney’s responsibility for the work product.
Scope of representation
The Firm will draft a Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in Common Agreement between the Client and the Client’s identified co-owner(s) reflecting the chosen form of co-ownership for an identified property (joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or tenancy in common with specified percentage interests), governance of the property (use, maintenance, expenses), and rights upon termination (sale, partition, buyout, death). Delivery does NOT include the deed itself (which requires recording at the appropriate county clerk’s office and is conveyance-of-real-property work outside this engagement’s scope). Each co-owner is a separate party. The Firm represents only the Client and does NOT represent any other co-owner. Each other co-owner is strongly encouraged to obtain independent legal review before signing.
Flat fee, advance fee
The flat fee for this engagement is the price displayed at the time the Client signs this Engagement Letter. This fee is designated as an advance fee under SCR 3.130(1.5)(f). The fee will be applied to the scope of representation described above. The engagement is expected to be completed within ten (10) business days of receipt of all Client-supplied facts and payment. Client provides informed consent to this fee structure by signing this Engagement Letter.
Confidentiality
Information you share with the Firm in this matter is protected by the attorney-client confidentiality duty under SCR 3.130(1.6). The Firm will not reveal information relating to the representation unless you give informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation, or disclosure is permitted or required by SCR 3.130(1.6)(b).
Attorney review of every document
The same attorney — Elton Johnson — personally reviews every document the Firm generates in this matter before it is delivered to you. This review is the lawful practice of law under SCR 3.130(5.3) and conforms to the supervising-attorney framework affirmed in KBA Ethics Opinion E-457.
No litigation
This engagement is limited to drafting the named document described in the Scope of Representation. It does NOT include representation in any litigation, dispute, or contested matter; in any court proceeding; in administrative proceedings; or in negotiations with third parties. If litigation, a dispute, or a contested matter arises, a separate engagement is required.
Refund and termination
If the Firm withdraws or fails to complete the named document (other than because the Client’s intake responses cannot lawfully be drafted into the requested instrument), the Firm will refund the advance fee in full. If the Client terminates the engagement before the document is delivered, the Firm will refund the advance fee minus a reasonable charge for work already performed, as required by SCR 3.130(1.16)(d).
Statutory authority
The named document is governed by general Kentucky contract law and by KRS 381.130 (Exceptions to KRS 381.120; right of survivorship in joint tenancy when manifestly intended). For real property held as joint tenants, KRS 381.130(2) permits partition during the joint tenants’ lifetimes by deed or other recorded instrument, except for residential real property owned by spouses occupying it as their principal residence (KRS 381.130(2)(b)).