Two unmarried friends purchase a home together as joint tenants with right of survivorship. One dies without a will. What happens to her share?

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship has a defining feature: when one joint tenant dies, their interest passes automatically and immediately to the surviving joint tenant(s) outside of probate. This 'right of survivorship' is the main reason couples and friends choose joint tenancy. The deceased's heirs receive nothing from the property, and a will cannot devise the joint tenancy interest because the interest is extinguished at death. Joint tenancy requires four unities: time, title, interest, and possession (acquired at the same time, in the same deed, equal shares, equal right to possess). Tenancy in common, by contrast, allows each owner to devise their share to heirs and does not include survivorship.