Marie King, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Joseph M. Greene, Mabel Greene, Margaretta P. W. Harrison, John Cusick and…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the trial court, holding that a purchaser at an execution sale of a spouse’s interest in a tenancy by the entirety acquires the spouse’s right of survivorship, making the purchaser a tenant in common with the surviving spouse. The Court overruled the earlier Zanzonico and Dworan decisions and remanded for entry of judgment consistent with this view. The opinion was accompanied by two dissenting opinions that argued survivorship is inalienable and that the majority’s rule would disrupt long‑standing title expectations.