On 1 July 2025, the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a 2012 survivorship deed that transferred a Troy, Michigan house to Jessica Rae Harless, rejecting Anita Lanctot’s claim.
The deed was signed 30 November 2012, when Shirley Ann Page transferred the 212 Hickory Drive property to herself and Harless. Page died 12 September 2023, after which Lanctot sued on 31 July 2024 to recover the home for her estate.
The court held that Michigan law does not demand the word “joint” to create a tenancy with survivorship; the deed’s plain language—“not as tenants in common, but with full rights of survivorship”—sufficed to prove Page’s intent.
Chief Judge Michael F. Gadola, Judge Colleen A. O’Brien, and Judge Philip P. Mariani cited section 554.44 of the Michigan Compiled Laws and earlier rulings such as Taylor v Taylor (1945) and Kemp v Sutton (1925) to support their view.
With the appellate decision, Harless retains sole ownership; Lanctot’s estate must accept the ruling, and no further appeal is anticipated.