Bob Aaron | Contributing Columnist for the Star
on December 16th, 2024
Property owners who have used joint ownership as an estate planning tool to avoid the cost and delay of probate will need to revisit their plans in light of this decision.
One of the most important real estate cases of the year was released by the Ontario Court of Appeal this month. It upsets the commonly-held interpretation of joint tenancy, a form of property ownership (not tenancy) which provides that on the death of one joint owner, the property automatically passes to the survivor.
Surprise court ruling over joint ownership of a home leaves estate beneficiary with nothing…
Writing for a three-judge panel, Justice Benjamin Zarnett dismissed Rosenberg’s appeal. In a huge surprise to many lawyers — including me — the court ruled that despite Rosenberg having a registered deed to half of the property, the effect of the 2020 deed was that she held her half interest in the property in trust for Mr. Jackson. “No right of survivorship could attach to or flow from that interest.” She wound up with nothing.
Bob Aaron, Toronto Real Estate Lawyer
