, and thereof enfeoffeth two, or
three, or four, or more, to have and to hold to them (and to their
heirs, or letteth to them) for term of their lives, or for term of
another's life; by force of which feoffment or lease they are
seised, such are joint-tenants. ... And it is to be understood,
that the nature of joint-tenancy is, that he that surviveth shall
have solely the entire tenancy, according to such estate as he
hath, ..." "Tenants in common are they that have lands or
tenements in fee-simple, fee-tail, or for term of life, etc., the
which have such lands and tenements by several title, and not by
joint title, and neither of them knoweth thereof his severalty,
but they ought by the law to occupy such lands or tenements in
common pro indiviso [undivided], to take the profits in common.
...As if a man enfeoff two joint-tenants in fee, and the one of
them alien that which to him belongeth to another in fee, now the
other joint-tenant and the alienee are tenants in common, because
they are in such tenements by several titles, ..."
There are legal maxims and customs of ancient origin which have
become well established and known though not written down as
statutes. Some delineated by Christopher St. Germain in "Doctor
and Student" in 1518 are:
1. The spouse of a deceased person takes all personal and
real chattels of the deceased.
2. For inheritance of land, if there are no descendant
children, the brothers and sisters take alike, and if there
are none, the next blood kin of the whole blood take, and if
none, the land escheats to the lord.
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