Several years ago the Province of Ontario changed from the Registry System to the Land Titles Conversion Qualified (LTCQ) system for the registration and searching of real estate title (ownership). The Registry Systems was a paper system, whereas, the LTCQ system is an electronic system, which provides efficiency in searching and registering title and provides assurances that the title registered is valid title, due to the fact that there is no concern of duplicate entries, as was prevelant in the paper Registry System.
If a transfer or sale of a property is being completed and a deceased party is registered on title it is important to know whether or not probate is required to be completed, as the cost savings from not having to complete probate can be substantial.
It is important to know that probate does not have to be completed on a property where it is the first dealing of the property since it has been converted from the Registry System to LTCQ.
The First Dealings Exemption is available in instances where the deceased party on title acquired the property while it was registered under the Registry System and continued to be registered on title, uninterrupted, after it was converted to LTCQ. This First Dealings Exemption would continue to apply as long as the deceased did not transfer their ownship of the property, so the fact that they registerd and discharged mortgages after they acquired the property would have no effect.
The First Dealings Exemption would continue to apply in the instance that a joint tenant, who was registered on title previously with the recently deceased, passes away and a survivorship application was completed to transfer the title solely into the ownerhsip of the recently deceased. Lastly, transfers of title between spouses due to the breakdown of the marriage would not result in the First Dealings Exemption being lost. However, if there is no valid Will and Last Testament then such discrepancy will vitiate the usage of the First Dealings Exemption.
