Transfer-on-Death Deeds Don't Exist in BC: Your Options for Passing On a Home

Transfer-on-death deeds, also called beneficiary deeds, let homeowners in some US states name someone to receive their home at death without probate. BC has no equivalent: you cannot register a document that passes your home to a named beneficiary at death while you keep full ownership until then.

In BC a home passes on death in one of three main ways: under your will, by survivorship if it is held in joint tenancy, or under a trust set up during your life. Each has trade-offs, and the right choice depends on your family and your goals.

Why there is no transfer-on-death deed in BC

Some US states let homeowners sign a transfer-on-death or “beneficiary” deed that passes the home to a named person at death without probate. BC has no equivalent. There is no form you can register on title that names a beneficiary of your home while you keep full ownership in the meantime: whoever is on title is an owner now.

BC's beneficiary-designation rules cover “benefit plans” such as pensions, annuities, RRSPs, RRIFs and TFSAs (Wills, Estates and Succession Act s 1(1)), and land is not among them; see RRSP and RRIF beneficiaries in BC. For a home, the realistic options are a will, joint tenancy, or a trust set up during your life.

Option 1: leave your home in your will

A home in your sole name forms part of your estate and passes under your will. Our guide do you need probate in BC explains when an executor needs a grant.

BC's probate fee is charged on property that passes to the personal representative at death: nothing on the first $25,000, $6 per $1,000 from $25,000 to $50,000, and $14 per $1,000 above $50,000 (Probate Fee Act ss 1–2). As an example only, an estate made up of a $1,000,000 home would pay $13,450.

A will keeps you in full control during your life, lets you change your mind, and lets you name backup beneficiaries. If you have recently bought or sold a home, read why your will needs a second look after buying a home.

Option 2: joint tenancy and the right of survivorship

The LTSA explains that when one joint tenant dies, the deceased owner's interest passes to the surviving joint tenants. The survivor updates title with a Transmission to Surviving Joint Tenant application and an original death certificate, and the application claims the survivorship exemption from property transfer tax. Because the home does not pass to the executor, it is not counted for probate fees.

Joint tenancy has to be chosen. Under the Property Law Act, two or more people who take land together are tenants in common unless the transfer shows a different intention (s 11). As the LTSA notes, a tenant in common's share passes under their will, or under WESA if there is no will. Joint tenants vs tenants in common explains the difference, and transferring the house after a joint owner dies covers the steps.

Joint tenancy has limits even between spouses:

• It can be severed. A joint tenant can end the joint tenancy on their own, for example by transferring their interest to themselves (Property Law Act s 18(3)); see severing a joint tenancy in BC.
• Close deaths change the result. If joint owners die together, or it cannot be shown that one survived the other by five days, the survivorship benefit is lost and the home is split between their estates (WESA ss 5(2), 10(2)(a)).

Adding a child to title is not a transfer-on-death deed

Adding an adult child as a joint tenant is the shortcut many families reach for, but it works very differently. Your child becomes an owner now, not at your death, and:

• You lose sole control. Selling, refinancing or mortgaging the home will generally need your child's signature.
• Your child's problems can reach the home. Their interest can be exposed to their creditors, a bankruptcy, or a family-law claim if they separate.
• Your other children may challenge it. If it is unclear whether you meant the survivorship right as a gift, your child may be found to hold the home for your estate; see was it a gift? challenging joint title after a death.
• Tax can apply. Property transfer tax may apply to the share you add unless an exemption fits, such as the one for transferring a principal residence to a related individual, and your child's share may not be sheltered by the principal residence exemption if they live elsewhere.
• It can be undone without you. Your child can sever the joint tenancy (Property Law Act s 18(3)).

Adding an adult child to your home's title in BC: the risks goes through each point in detail.

Option 3: a trust set up during your life

If you are 65 or older, an alter ego or joint partner trust can hold your home during your life and pass it to the beneficiaries you choose afterwards, outside probate. The income tax rules allow the home to be moved in at its tax cost, but registering it in the trustee's name is a transfer for property transfer tax, and the exemptions for trusts are narrow. See living trusts in BC and alter ego and joint partner trusts.

Choosing an approach

Questions worth answering before you change anything:

• Who should receive the home, and should your other beneficiaries receive something of equal value?
• Do you want to keep full control, including the ability to sell, borrow against the home or change your mind?
• Is the probate fee you would save worth the costs and risks of the alternative?
• Will your will, the title and any trust all say the same thing?

Reducing probate fees in BC: what works and what backfires compares these and other strategies.

Planning who gets your home? Get advice before you change the title

Our wills and estate planning lawyers can review how your home is held, explain how each option would work for your family, and prepare a will, transfer or trust that matches your intentions.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.