You can add additional owners to your property whenever you want. The new owner does not have to pay money and they can be family members. You can make the new person an equal share owner or you can give them a certain percentage. Most commonly, parents add their children as Joint Tenants. This makes the child an equal owner with any other Joint Tenants. The benefit to the Joint Tenant route in Nova Scotia is that when one person dies, the surviving owners automatically become full owners without requiring the estate to pass through Probate Court (saving time, stress and significant money).

Use a Quit Claim Deed to add family

The most common way to add a family member to the title of a property in Nova Scotia is with a Quit Claim Deed. All of the people who are presently owners of the property must sign the Deed. The person being added to the title does not need to sign the deed.

New Owners Require Bank Approval if there is a Mortgage

If you have a mortgage, line of credit or other security on the property, the bank will need to consent to adding anyone to the title. Usually, the lender will require anyone on title to be a party to the mortgage. If the person you wish to add to the title of the property doesn’t quality to be part of the mortgage, then you likely won’t be able to add them to the title of the property.

Registration of the Quit Claim Deed

Once the Quit Claim Deed is executed, you should register it at the Nova Scotia Registry of Deeds. If the land is migrated, the Deed must be registered at the Nova Scotia Land Registration office. You will require an authorized lawyer to register the deed at the Land Registration office.

No Removal Without Consent

Remember ‘Adding someone to the title” of a property means they are a full owner, just like you. You will not have the ability to remove them without their consent if you change your mind.

By: Briana C. O’Grady - Lawyer

Have Questions For Us?:

If you have any questions about adding children to your deed you can call us at (902) 826-3070 or email us at info@highlanderlaw.ca to set up a meeting with one of our lawyers at our Tantallon law firm. You can also schedule a no commitment Issue Review Consult for $250+HST where you have the opportunity to explain your situation to a lawyer and get basic advice before deciding whether or not you'd like to retain us.

The information and materials on this blog are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. Nothing contained on this blog is legal advice or constitutes a legal opinion. While it is our goal to provide information which is current, legislative changes and court decisions, among other matters, may result in some information no longer being current or accurate. You should consult a lawyer before relying on any information. The views expressed herein by individual contributing lawyers posting entries to the blog are solely those of the authors and should not necessarily be attributed to or considered representative of the firm of Highlander Law Group Lawyers