What is the common law test for severing a joint tenancy?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Fonger v. Thuss et al., 2021 ONSC 7255 (CanLII):

The Ontario Court of Appeal has reviewed the common law in this area and has held in Hansen Estate v. Hansen, 2012 ONCA 112, at paras 32, 34, that there are three ways for someone to sever a joint tenancy during their lifetime: 1. By an act of any one of the persons interested operating on his or her own share; 2. By mutual agreement; and 3. Any course of dealing sufficient to intimate that the interests of all were mutually treated as constituting a tenancy in common.

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