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In Ontario, the property title transfer procedure is a cost-effective and straightforward process that requires retaining a real estate lawyer familiar with title transfers in Ontario.
Our experienced real estate lawyer can help you with your title transfer, whether adding a name to the house title or removing your name from the property title. We can also help you with survivorship applications and probate orders if necessary to transfer a property.
A title means the legal right to own and possess property. A land title document implies the person named in the land title is the legal owner of the property.
One person can own property, or two or more persons can own a property together as co-owners. If two or more people own a property, they have to hold title to land as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common. The term tenants should not be confused with people leasing a property to pay rent. Therefore joint ownership of Property in Ontario can either be Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.
Joint ownership of Property in Ontario does not mean both co-owners hold the property in equal shares. An inspection of the land title transfer document would be required to identify the registered owner’s status as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.
When two or more people own a property as Joint Tenants, all co-owners have 100% or equal ownership of the property. All co-owners registered as Joint Tenants become entitled to equal ownership at the same time when the property is transferred.
Joint Tenant ownership differs from Tenants in Common because each co-owner has a right of survivorship to the other co-owner share/ interest in the property. The property will be inherited by surviving joint tenant without a need of a Will under Joint tenancy.
A Tenant in Common does not have a right of survivorship, and upon the death of a co-owner, the property is inherited as per Ontario’s inheritance laws.
A title search is required to investigate if two or more people owners are either Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common. A real estate lawyer can easily do a title search for clients to identify the status of title. At our office, we charge $90 + Tax to do a land title search and $45 + Tax to do a transfer search for the status of title verification.
You would need to retain the services of a real estate lawyer for the transfer of a property to a family member in Ontario. Your real estate lawyer will be responsible for preparing all documentation and advising you if any land transfer tax would be applicable upon transfer to a family member. For example, adding a spouse’s name to a house title is common after purchasing a property. Therefore, land transfer tax will not be applicable if a spouse is being added to the property.
In the case of a spousal transfer with a mortgage on a property, lenders’ approval is required before a real estate lawyer can complete the title transfer to your spouse.
You can transfer property to a family member other than a spouse through a gift. If there is no mortgage, no land transfer tax would be applicable. Upon transfer to a family member. If there is a mortgage, then land transfer tax would only apply to the outstanding amount of the mortgage. Your real estate lawyer can help you with the transfer to the property to a family member.
The title transfer process takes less than an hour to complete. However, documentation exchange, drafting, and meeting with the client could take around a week to complete.
How to transfer land title from a deceased person?
A probate order or a survivorship application is required to transfer property from a deceased person. However, a real estate lawyer must first investigate the status of the title to identify if probate is needed before transferring property from a deceased person.
If the deceased is the sole registered owner or a co-owner registered as a tenant in common, probate is required.
On the other hand, if the deceased is a joint tenant co-owner, in that case, your real estate lawyer will register a survivorship application to transfer title from the deceased into the name of surviving joint tenant.
Land transfer tax is not applicable for property transfer from the deceased name.
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