April 2007


Joint ownership of property is not a recent innovation in our law. It is not uncommon for spouses and family members to hold property as "joint tenants". With the current high rate of probate tax, joint ownership is often considered as a technique to reduce or avoid probate tax payable on death. However, transferring property into joint ownership gives rise to many issues which, if not addressed, may create a trap for the unwary; a trap which at the end of the day may cost more than the probate tax which was saved. The purpose of this bulletin is to discuss the various tax related and non-tax related implications of this "trap".