Personal Representative Interests

Situation

You are a personal representative who must register an interest or perform another interest-related transaction on behalf of the estate.

Solution

The following information will help you in conducting transactions for interests:
  • that are held by a deceased Joint Tenant
  • that are held by one Interest Holder or a Tenant In Common
  • that are new and held by an Estate
Interests Held by a Deceased Joint Tenant

If the deceased held an interest as a joint tenant, an interest may be assigned to the surviving interest holder. This process works the same way as a transfer of title to a surviving joint tenant.

A packet containing an interest assignment to surviving interest holder must include the following:
  1. packet cover page
  2. application for interest assignment to surviving joint tenant
  3. affidavit of surviving joint tenant that states a joint tenant has died and that the applicant is the surviving joint tenant
  4. proof of death which will be either 
    • a death certificate issued by Vital Statistics 
    • Letters Probate/Letters of Administration 

Death of All Interest Holders
If all the interest holders are deceased and you want to discharge the interest, then the personal representatives of all the deceased must submit an application for interest discharge packet including as authorization:
  1. Letters Probate or Administration for all deceased interest holders
  2. Certificate of no infants for all deceased interest holders
 
If the personal representatives cannot obtain letters probate or certificates for all of the deceased, then the interest must be assigned into the name of the interest holder who was the last to die. That interest holder’s personal representative may then discharge the interest.

Interests Held by One Interest Holder or by Tenants In Common
If the deceased holds an interest, either as a sole holder or as a tenant in common, ISC requires an application to assign the interest to the deceased’s personal representative(s). Pursuant to s. 72 of The Land Titles Regulations, 2001, the personal representative must submit an application assigning the interest into his or her name, and an application to register a sub interest giving notice that the personal representative holds the interest.

An application to assign an interest to a personal representative must include evidence to prove that:
  • the interest holder has died
  • the applicant is the personal representative of the interest holder
  • the personal representative has obtained either a certificate of the local registrar or of the Public Guardian and Trustee or Official Guardian’s Certificate
  • no infants are interested in the deceased’s estate

A packet containing an assignment of interest and registration of a notice must therefore include the following:
  1. packet cover page
  2. application to register “notice interest held by personal representative"
    • the authorization will be letters probate/letters of administration and, if the date of death is not included on the letters probate/letters of administration, a death certificate issued by Vital Statistics;
    • local registrar’s certificate or Public Guardian and Trustee certificate
  3. application for assignment
    • the authorization will be letters probate/letters of administration and, if the date of death is not included on the letters probate/letters of administration, a death certificate issued by Vital Statistics 
    • local registrar’s certificate or Public Guardian and Trustee certificate


NOTE: ISC will not accept a funeral director’s certificate as proof of death; only a death certificate issued by Vital Statistics is acceptable. ISC will accept a certificate from the out of province equivalent of Vital Statistics

NOTE: If a court outside of Saskatchewan appointed an executor or administrator who wants to deal with an interest in land in Saskatchewan, he or she must obtain letters probate or letters of administration in Saskatchewan or else apply to the court in Saskatchewan to have the letters probate or letters of administration from the other jurisdiction resealed in Saskatchewan.

NOTE: If the name of the deceased on the interest and the name of the deceased on the death certificate, letters probate or letters of administration are different, then you must submit an affidavit of identity stating that the interest holder and that the person named in the Letters Probate or Letters of Administration and the Local Registrar’s Certificate or the Certificate of Public Trustee is the same.

NOTE: For further details, see Section 30(1) of The Land Titles Regulations, 2001 and ISC’s Guide to Affidavits of Identity.

Discharge of an Existing Interest by Single Interest Holder or Tenant in Common

A personal representative can authorize the discharge of an interest held by the deceased without assigning it first. The application to discharge must only include:

  1. Letters Probate or Administration
  2. Certificate of No Infants
  3. Interest Authorization

New Interests Held by the Estate
You may not register new interests in the name of a personal representative (e.g., “Mary Jane as personal representative”). Rather, you must register the interest in the personal representative’s name (e.g., “Mary Jane”) and then register a sub-interest that gives notice that a personal representative holds the interest.

A packet containing an assignment of interest and registration must include the following:
  1. packet cover page
  2. application for interest registration (for example, a miscellaneous interest)
  3. application for interest registration of “Notice – Interest Held by Personal Representative” as a sub interest against the miscellaneous interest

NOTE: You may register both the interest and the sub-interest in one packet, by referring to the previous application in an OLS packet.

NOTE: For further details, see Section 72 of The Land Titles Regulations, 2001.