AMENDING TITLE/OWNERSHIP OF A DECEASED OWNER
Ownership of property is usually held by individuals in one of two ways, namely:
- As "Joint Tenants" which is when two or more parties hold title to the property equally. In the event of the death of one party, the surviving co-owner(s) acquires the interest of the deceased owner. Ownership as "Joint Tenants" is the common manner in which spouses own property.
- As "Tenants in Common" which is when two or more persons own property but individually are able to dispose of their specific interest in the property independently of the other party or parties, either by transfer of ownership or pursuant to their Last Will and Testament.
Ownership as Joint Tenants
In the event of the death of an owner who owns property as "Joint Tenants", we can assist you, the surviving joint tenant, in the preparation and registration of a Survivorship Application. The following are the requirements to be met in order to register the required survivorship application:
a) The surviving owner(s) (the "Applicant") must own the property as joint tenants with the deceased owner
b) A death certificate of the deceased owner must be provided
c) The deceased and surviving joint tenant must be spouses of each other when the deceased died OR the deceased was not a spouse at the time of death.
PLEASE NOTE: If a deceased owner owns property as Joint Tenants with another person who is not the spouse of the deceased, and the property is the family residence of the deceased and spouse of the deceased, then the joint tenancy becomes null and void immediately prior to the death of the deceased.
Example: John and Mary Smith are father and daughter and own property as joint tenants. John's wife, Jenny, lives at the property but is not an owner. Upon the death of John Smith, the joint tenancy between John and Mary is no longer valid. Mary cannot apply to be named the surviving owner because the spouse, Jenny, has an interest in the property and is therefore entitled to inherit John's share of the house.
Ownership as Tenants in Common
In the event the deceased owner is the sole owner or owns property with another person(s) as tenants in common, then it will be necessary for the personal representative of the deceased to apply for the required Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee to enable us to prepare and register the necessary Transmission Application allowing the Estate Trustee to sell or transfer ownership of the property.
