Hoover v. Smith
Supreme Court of Virginia
444 S.E.2d 546 (1994)
A 1928 deed conveyed land to Add and Bessie Shoemaker "as joint tenants, and not as tenants in common"; after Add died in 1952, Bessie (surviving him) conveyed part of the property to their son, who eventually passed it down to the Smiths (defendants). Several of Add and Bessie's other children (plaintiffs) sued decades later, arguing that under Virginia's statute abolishing automatic joint-tenancy survivorship, Add and Bessie actually held the property as tenants in common, meaning Add's half-interest should have passed to his heirs at his death rather than automatically to Bessie; the trial court ruled for the defendants, finding the deed established a right of survivorship.
Whether, under Virginia law, a right of survivorship exists between joint tenants if the conveying instrument does not manifestly show the parties intended to establish that right.