In Nova Scotia, there are two main ways in which title of a property can be held: joint tenants and tenants in common.
In a joint tenancy, each owner has an undivided interest in the whole which comes with a right of survivorship. What this means is that when one joint tenant passes away, their interest in the property is absorbed by the surviving joint tenant(s). The last surviving joint tenant owns the property in its entirety. This is the most common form of ownership between couples with respect to the family home for example.
Tenants in common ownership specifies the proportion of the property that each owner owns. Any division or percentages of ownership are acceptable. In this case, when a tenants in common owner passes away, their share falls into their estate and is ultimately inherited by their beneficiaries. This form of ownership is commonly used for business partners and often for family cottages that have been passed down to the next generations, so they can continue to inherit proportionally to their parents’ shares.
If you require further information concerning joint tenant and tenants in common, please do not hesitate to contact a lawyer on our real estate team.