What Does It Mean When Someone Says Title Is Held as Tenants in Common After a Co-Owner Dies in Ontario?
Whether a co-owner's share passes to you automatically or goes through their estate depends on how title is held. As a general idea, joint tenants hold the property together and the survivor takes over, while tenants in common each hold their own share. An estate normally must be probated if the deceased owned real property that does not pass to someone else by right of survivorship.
If you were a joint tenant, you update title with a Survivorship Application under Land Titles Act s. 123, which gives the date of death. For deaths on or after March 1, 1986, it must also include a Family Law Act spousal statement. These statements can only be made by a solicitor, who must sign them. If a spouse dies owning a matrimonial home as a joint tenant with someone other than their spouse, such as an adult child, the joint tenancy is deemed severed immediately before death, so survivorship does not operate.
If the property must be sold, the certificate should be obtained before anyone signs an Agreement of Purchase and Sale. A lawyer can confirm which route fits your situation.
Key takeaways
- A surviving joint tenant updates title with a Survivorship Application under Land Titles Act s. 123.
- The required statements in survivorship applications can only be made and signed by a solicitor.
- An estate normally must be probated if the deceased owned real property that does not pass to someone else by right of survivorship.
- If a spouse dies owning a matrimonial home as a joint tenant with someone other than their spouse, the joint tenancy is deemed severed immediately before death.