In ancient Egypt, people once believed that their property would
accompany them upon death. However, in 21st century Canada,
it's no secret that one cannot take their real or personal
property with them when they die. A Will indicates who will be the
owner of property, what property will be owned, and how property
will be owned when it's owned by two or more people.
Property owned by two or more people is typically owned in two
ways: (1) joint tenancy or (2) tenants-in-common (also known as
tenancy in common). It's important to understand this
distinction between joint tenancy and tenancy in common when
planning one's estate.
When property is owned by "joint tenancy," whoever
survives retains all of the property because they all own all of
the property. In other words, when one joint tenant dies, the
entire property belongs to the surviving joint tenant(s). Only the
last surviving owner, who owns all of the property, can give the
property through his or her Will.
