Difference between joint tenancy and tenancy in common home ownership Ontario EVERYTHING Law
When a single home owner passes, the title will fall into the estate of the homeowner either according to intestate law (Succession Law Reform Act) or in accordance to the will and the last testament of the home owner, if he had one.
When two or more owners (including corporations) own title to a property or a home, their either hold it as tenants-in-common or as joint tenants.
Tenancy-in-common: When two or more owners own title as tenants-in-common, they each have a divided percentage interest in ownership of the property. When such ownership is unspecified it is intended to be equal.
One disadvantage of tenancy-in-common is that, when one owner dies, their share of the property pass into their estate dealt pursuant to either intestacy or will as applicable.
When it falls into the estate, it is subjected to an estate administration tax (1.5% of the total appraised value of the property exceeding $50,000). In other words, there is no right of survivorship.
Joint Tenancy: Joint tenancy with a right of survivorship is a recommended title ownership structure to avoid probate or estate administration tax. When one joint tenant passes or ceases to be an owner for one or the other reason, the remaining joint tenant continues as the owner, becoming absolute owner of the land. Hence the term ‘right of survivorship’. The property, therefore does not pass into estate and is not subjected to estate administration tax.
Caution must be taken that any joint tenancy between a financially independent adult child and a parent give rise to a rebuttable resulting trust in favour of the parent’s estate unless the adult child can prove otherwise.
When both or all joint tenants die at the same instance, the joint tenancy is treated as tenancy-in-common.
Severance of joint tenancies: A joint tenancy can be converted, unilaterally to a tenancy-in-common by severance of such joint tenancy. The severance requires a clear, unequivocal action.
How can EVERYTHING LAW PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION help you?
If you require further assistance in the above matter, please contact us. We are Immigrant-founded, multilingual and accommodating to cater the needs of all walks of life including the working-class community. As experienced professionals, we have been successfully assisting clients in this matter to their satisfaction. Contact us today.
Real Estate
Family Law
Immigration
Disclaimer:
We aim to update our website on an ongoing basis with transparent prices, written resources and links, but they may not be current or updated, reflecting the latest changes made to any law or policy. You are advised to act independently and diligently in verifying the current legal standards and to seek advice from professional legal counsel before acting upon any information from this website.
Please note that both our contents and any links to third-party sites are not legal advice and are mere information provided on an "as-is" basis, for general purposes, without any warranty or representation, expressed or implied.
Until we sign a retainer, we are not your legal representative. Mere visiting, accessing or using our website or resources do not establish a solicitor-client relationship between us. Therefore, please do not disclose confidential information to us, in any form or manner, before we perform a conflict-of-interest check and retained.
Unsolicited communication, in any manner, does not impose any confidentiality obligations. Nevertheless, the resources on our website can help you in forming an idea about your next steps.
If you are ever in a legal crisis, it is imperative you retain a lawyer of your choice. We do not endorse, recommend, or accept responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, security, or completeness of information on this or any external links cited by us who may ask for your personal information and may have their own policies and practices.
We disclaim all responsibilities, liabilities arising out from any use or inability to use of this website, including reliance on the information provided and therefore, are not liable for any damages not limiting to direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, or special, resulting from the use of this website or any information contained within it.
We reserve the right to modify, revise, or update the contents of this website including this disclaimer at any time without prior notice.
This site may collect information from our users and we are the sole owners for any information collected from your visit on this website. We aim to comply with the rules and standards set by the Law Society of Ontario (LSO).
For any concerns regarding compliance or ethical obligations, please contact us directly to ensure clarity and adherence to professional responsibilities and obligations.