thank you for your help! in a joint tenancy, why does the term "poor
man's will" reffer to the rights of survivorship(the rights of a
surviving tenant to the interest of the deceased).

Hello.

First of all, I should note that Google Answers provides general
information and is not a substitute for professsional legal or real
estate advice.  If you need professional advice, you should contact a
qualified attorney in your area.

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See:

'Joint Tenancy is frequently thought of as a "poor man's will" because
the asset transfers automatically upon death to the people named on
the title.'
source: couchlaw.com
http://www.couchlaw.com/template_3/article/1,2430,3070,00.asp

'Joint Tenancy ownership
Joint tenancy has been called "the poor man's will" because it can and
does effectively avoid probate on the death of the first joint tenant.
However, if you and your spouse own property as joint tenants and both
of you die together, the property held in joint tenancy is still
subject to probate.'
source: Estate Planning Workbook
http://www.posticbates.com/CM/EstatePlanningWorkbook/EstatePlanningWorkbook26.asp

'Joint Tenants With Right of Survivorship. This form of ownership is
similar to a tenancy in common, except that when one of the joint
tenants dies, his interest terminates and the remaining joint owner or
owners succeed to his interest. It is not favored by the law, and one
ordinarily cannot create a joint tenancy without using the words
"joint tenancy with right of survivorship" to make it absolutely clear
that this is what the parties intended. It is sometimes called a poor
man's will, because the property passes to the surviving joint owner
without the necessity for probate.'
source: Osbornmaledon.com, cached by Google
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:mSkmWeluWTMJ:www.osbornmaledon.com/press/realestate/402.htm+%22poor+man%27s+will+because&hl=en&ie=UTF-8


Thus, to summarize...

If you hold property in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and
you die, the property will pass to your surviving joint tenant(s).  No
will is needed to effect the transfer, and there will be no expensive
probate procedure.

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search strategy:
"poor man's will because"

I hope this helps.