My co-owner died without a will — what happens to their share of our Ontario property?

What happens to a deceased co-owner's share of property depends on whether you held the property as joint tenants or as tenants in common.

If you were joint tenants, the right of survivorship applies automatically: the deceased's interest passes to you as the surviving joint tenant by operation of law, outside their estate and without probate. You register the change at the Land Registry Office using a survivorship application and a copy of the death certificate.

If you were tenants in common, the deceased's share passes through their estate. Because they died without a will (intestate), Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act determines who inherits. The estate is distributed to the next of kin in a priority order set by the Act — generally spouse, then children, then other relatives depending on the family structure. The beneficiary under the intestacy rules becomes your new co-owner.

In this scenario, you may find yourself co-owning property with someone you did not choose — perhaps your deceased partner's children from a prior relationship. If you and the new co-owner cannot agree on the property's use or disposition, either party may apply under the Partition Act for a partition or sale.

This situation illustrates why every co-owner should have a current will, and why a co-ownership agreement with a death buyout provision is valuable.