Author: Kimberly Whaley

Recent caselaw surrounding joint ownership of assets in Canada has highlighted not only tension between the law in gifts and rights of survivorship but has also demonstrated some of the potential pitfalls in using joint ownership as an estate planning vehicle. While much of this is the result of different interpretations of authority, there are still several decisions rendered every year that contribute to uncertainty in this area of the law. This paper takes a comprehensive look at treatment of the issues across Canada and some of the common circumstances which lead to disputes.

This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.