What if Ann remarries and puts the house in joint ownership with her new husband, Dan?
If Ann dies first, Dan owns the house. Is Dan under any legal obligation to give anything to Tom's and Ann's kids? No. The house belongs to Dan and he can do anything he wants with it.
Even if Ann had written in her will that she wanted her share of the house to go to her children, it wouldn't have made any difference. Remember, wills don't control assets that transfer automatically to a surviving joint owner.
In this example, using joint ownership caused Tom and Ann to disinherit their children!
