Most people know who’s on title to the property but they rarely know how the ownership is registered and what rights people have with their portion of the property.  This is important to know in the event that somone on title dies.  Depending on how you regsiter your property at the land titles office will determine who owns the property in event that someone dies.

When a property is held in joint tenancy, the situation is what I refer to as “the last man standing”. When one joint tenant dies, the entire property belongs to the remaining, surviving joint tenant(s). Whoever is the last joint tenant to die owns the property. Only that last person can use his or her Will to give the property to someone else.  This is most common for married or common law couples. 

Tenants-in-common is a different story. In this arrangement, each person owns a half, or third, or some other portion that belongs only to them. They can leave their share to someone in their Will or sell it (never mind the logistical problems of trying to sell one third of a house).  This is common when it’s business partners, family or friends.