What term describes the right of a surviving owner to receive a decedent's interest automatically?

• A. Right of survivorship
• B. Operation of law
• C. Four unities
• D. Totten trust

Answer: (A)

The right of survivorship describes the automatic transfer of a decedent’s interest to the surviving owner. In joint ownership (joint tenancy, or tenancy by the entirety), when one owner dies, the surviving owner(s) immediately acquire the deceased’s share, bypassing probate. That immediate transfer is exactly what the term “right of survivorship” denotes.

Operation of law is a broader notion about how rights pass by legal default, not the specific term for this automatic transfer. Four unities refer to the elements required to create a joint tenancy (time, title, interest, possession), not the transfer right itself. Totten trust is a form of trust arrangement for funds held for a beneficiary, not about joint ownership with survivorship.