Joint tenancy in British Columbia?

Mother X and Child Y jointly purchased a condo in British Columbia as 'joint tenancy'. Child Y has and continues to live in condo.

1. In the event of death, the condo would go to the surviving owner. Can this ownership be contested by other family members to become part of the estate?

2. If one person wants to sell their share what would the price be set at? Market value or the original purchase agreement / mortgage already in place - 50%?

3. If one person wants to buy out the other person's share, would be buy out price be 50% of the existing purchase price or the current market value?

What is the law in British Columbia regarding this?

1. It is possible for the transfer of the condo to be contested, but not as likely as if it had been part of the estate. Joint tenancy is a common tool used to lessen the likelihood of a fight. Good planning. More likely than trying to set aside the transfer of the condo, a person could, as part of a challenge to the will, argue that the portion of the estate going to Child Y should be reduced to take into account the fact that this child got the condo. There are many arguments and considerations here. Get legal advice when/if a fight erupts.

2. The price of the joint interest would be whatever someone is willing to buy. The law does not control price. Selling one's joint interest is tricky, since whoever buys the interest is getting only a joint interest. Remember, you can only sell what you own and all you own is the joint interest. Ask some realtors about the market for such things, but I think you'll find it's pretty weak.

3. The price of the other person's joint interest would be whatever that person is willing to accept. Again, the law does not control price. Completing the deal would be pretty easy.

Be sure to get tax advice if the sale price(s) discussed above are anything other than fair market value. I'm not a tax lawyer, but I know there could be an issue, so call someone. In BC, Thorsteinssons (not sure if I have too many ss's in there) would be one of the best firms, but they could be expensive.

Hope this helped.