How to Add Your Spouse to Your House Title in Alberta

Many Alberta homeowners want to put a spouse on title after marriage, after a renovation, or simply for peace of mind. The paperwork is not long, but one missing phrase on the form can change what happens to the home when someone dies.

This guide walks through the steps in order: the form, how you hold title, dower, the levy, the tax side, what happens on a death, and where to send it all. It is general information, not advice on your own file.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Start with the Transfer of Land form

To add or remove a name on title, you use the Transfer of Land form, and it must be signed by all current registered owners. A husband can transfer land to his wife, and a wife to her husband, without a trustee being involved.

The form asks for specific details, so have them ready before you start:

• The full names of the current owners (the transferors).
• The full names and addresses of the new owners.
• The full legal land description, not the civic address.
• The consideration, meaning the amount paid, if any.
• The name and address of the witness to the transferors' signatures.

Say joint tenancy if you want survivorship

How you hold title matters as much as who is on it. With joint tenancy, each owner has the right of survivorship, so when one owner dies their share goes to the other owners. With tenancy in common, each owner holds an individual share, and on death that share goes to the person's estate instead.

Joint tenancy must be specified on the transfer document, and it is then shown on title. Where land goes to two or more people, they take as tenants in common unless an intention to take as joint tenants sufficiently appears on the instrument. Spouses are no exception: when land is transferred to a husband and wife they take according to the tenor of the transfer, so they are joint tenants only if the transfer says so.

Dower and the transfer levy

Under the Dower Act, a married person may not dispose of the homestead unless the spouse consents in writing or the Court has dispensed with consent. A homestead must have the owner's residence on it, and it is limited to one quarter section outside a city, town or village, or up to 4 adjoining lots in a block in a city, town or village. The Act does not apply to land a married person owns as a joint tenant, tenant in common or partial owner with someone other than the spouse.

Land Titles notes that where dower requirements apply and there is only one current owner, a dower option is needed, such as spousal consent and acknowledgement, a dower affidavit, a release, or a court order dispensing with consent. Adding a spouse to title is a case where the transfer is between married persons.

The transfer registration levy is $50 plus $5 for each $5,000 or portion thereof of the value of the land, and it is paid by the transferee. For example, land valued at $200,000 gives $50 plus (40 x $5), which is $250. The rate has been $5 per $5,000 for submissions received on or after October 20, 2024, up from $2 per $5,000. Some transfers are excepted, such as one correcting an error or reversing an aborted sale. Fees are due at submission.

The tax side of adding a spouse

A gift of capital property to a spouse or common-law partner generally produces no capital gain or loss. The transferor is treated as receiving the adjusted cost base, and the spouse as acquiring at the same amount, under subsection 73(1) of the Income Tax Act.

• You may elect not to have subsection 73(1) apply, in the return for the year of transfer, so proceeds are deemed to equal fair market value.
• If your spouse later sells, you usually report the gain (attribution) while you are a Canadian resident and still married or common-law.
• The exception is where you are living apart because of relationship breakdown and an election is filed.
• A family can designate only one home per year as a principal residence, and the sale and designation must be reported on the return.

How this plays out depends on your facts, so an accountant can confirm it before you sign.

If one spouse dies, and where to send the documents

If you hold as joint tenants and one of you dies, you use the Statutory Declaration regarding Proof of Death with an original or notarized copy of an approved death certificate or comparable document. Only an original death certificate is returned. On written application with the required documents, the Registrar shall cancel the certificate of title and grant a new one in the name of the surviving joint tenant.

If you held as tenants in common instead, the process differs: the land vests in the personal representative, and an Application for Transmission to Personal Representative is filed with the original grant of probate or letters of administration from the Surrogate Court of Alberta.

Documents are mailed or delivered to a Land Titles office in Edmonton or Calgary, and in-person service was noted as paused, with phone and email support available. Fees are due at submission, and the Application for Transfer of Land form is published online. Because in-person service was noted as paused, check with Land Titles for the current ways to submit documents and pay before you send anything.

What to do next

• Decide whether you want joint tenancy and make sure the transfer says so.
• Gather the legal land description from your current title, not just the street address.
• Ask your mortgage lender whether the transfer needs its approval, since that depends on your mortgage contract.
• Speak with an accountant about the tax election and attribution.
• Book a lawyer to review the form and the dower option before you submit.

Frequently asked questions