Transfer to Survivor Funeral Home Partnership Program

What is the Program?

In British Columbia, property can be owned by two or more parties as Joint Tenants. This style of ownership means that when one party dies, the property transfers to the surviving owner(s) by right of survivorship (not through the Will and therefore not requiring probate). In order to trigger this right of survivorship, paperwork has to be filed with the Land Title office. Many people forget about this process or find the thought of hiring a legal practitioner to be intimidating, so they put it off. This program is designed to make the process accessible and easy.

We want to partner with you so that the process of transferring the title of the property can be completed as part of the other paperwork the client is already doing with your company.

For clarification, throughout this document, we will talk about the “client”. In this case, we mean the surviving owner who is on title with the deceased. We understand that at times, you might be dealing with say the children who are helping their parent when the other parent passes away. In these cases, we will consider the surviving parent to be the client.

Benefits to your client

• Check another “to do” off their long list of things to deal with
• Effortlessly complete this part of the process instead of searching for a legal professional to complete the transfer
• Be guided through the paperwork virtually by our Notary and given an opportunity for questions prior to signing the documents
• Receive an updated State of Title Certificate for their property

Benefit to you

• $300.00 (as Agent Agreement fee)
• An information sheet to present to clients which summarizes the service this program offers
• A clear and easy to complete intake form to complete with clients
• A private portal to send us your client’s information securely and confidentially
• Enhanced service to your clients – makes things as easy as possible for them after their loss
• We can assist clients all over the province with our virtual service offering

Process

1. Present the client with the brochure which outlines why they should update the title of their property after the death of a joint tenant.
2. If the client agrees to move forward, complete the brief intake form with the client. Complete and sign the Agent Agreement which is attached to the intake. Return the completed intake, Agent Agreement, and copies of the client ID and death certificate to us via our secure portal. Arrange for the original death certificate to be provided to our office (it is a requirement of the Land Title office that we have to physically see the original death certificate). This death certificate will be return to the client in the matter indicated on their intake form.
3. We will prepare the paperwork and reach out to the client to schedule an appointment. The clients will receive the documents they will sign via our secure portal.
4. Our Notary will meet with the client virtually to go through the documents and answer any questions the client may have. The clients will sign the documents electronically and return them to our office.
5. We will register the transaction with the Land Title office. Once the transfer is finalized, we will order a State of Title Certificate and provide it to the client.

From start to finish, we estimate that this process will take about three weeks. We may be able to accommodate quicker turnaround times if there is any urgency.

Your Role

The bolded items in the process outlined above are where we would require your involvement. We recognize that you are busy with your work and do not want to make this a difficult or onerous task.

The fundamental role you play in this program is obtaining the obtaining the client’s identification and confirming their identity on our behalf. This is what allows us to proceed with this virtual offering. Your involvement in this step is critical.

FAQs

“I am not located near one of your offices, can you still help my clients?”

Yes! We have designed the process so that we can help clients all over British Columbia. Our partnership with you is the critical component to being able to offer this virtual service.

“Can I order a death certificate, and have it sent directly to your office from Vital Statistics?”

Yes! This is a great option if you do not have the ability to courier to us from your office.

“My client is not good with technology can I print the documents for them and have them meet with you virtually at my office?”

Yes! We understand that not all clients are comfortable with navigating technology. Please let us know any requests like this when returning documents via the secure portal.

“What if a person owns their property as a “Tenant in Common” with the deceased person?”

Unfortunately, this program does not apply to properties owned as Tenant in Common ownership. We can only do this type of transfer where there is Joint Tenant ownership. If a client is unsure about the nature of their ownership on title, please contact us and we can pull a title search to confirm their ownership. We would need to decline to act for circumstances where there is a Tenant in Common ownership.

How to Join the Program

We would be thrilled to partner with you and assist your clients with the transmission to surviving joint tenant process. We will set up the secure portal to share documents with you. One of our team members will reach out to walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have about the program.