The process to be followed to sever a joint tenancy by notice (in accordance with section 79 of The Real Property Act) is:
1. Complete Notice of Intention to Sever Joint Tenancy (Form 20). Do not register this at Land Titles. Do not claim anything more than an equal share. For a joint tenancy to exist, the parties must have equal shares. Those who believe they are entitled to a greater share should consider an application to the court for an order of partition.
2. Personally serve the Form 20.
3. Wait thirty days from the date the notice is personally served.
4. Register the severing instrument with the appropriate land titles office.
i. The severing instrument can be a conveyance of an interest by the joint tenant to a third party or, for a severance by a joint tenant without a disposition, the severing instrument can either be a Transfer of Land (Form 5.1) by the severing joint tenant to themselves or a Request/Transmission (Form 15.1).
ii. An affidavit of service of the Form 20 (with a copy of the actual Form 20 that was served attached as an exhibit) must be submitted with the severing instrument. When using eRegistration, this affidavit is to be added to the severing instrument as a supporting document.
Where a joint tenant served with the Form 20 wishes to contest the severance, they must file evidence with the district registrar confirming that they have taken court proceedings to oppose the severance. This should include court certified copies of the originating document in court (Statement of Claim), together with any relevant motions. The evidence should be attached to a Request/Transmission form (Form 15.1) and submitted in the eRegistration portal as a miscellaneous (MISC) instrument.
Once evidence of proceedings has been filed the district registrar will not complete the registration of the severing instrument; nor will land titles process a survivorship request in the event that either of the joint tenants dies, unless either a court order or consent to that registration by the estate of the deceased joint tenant is received. This is because there is no certainty as to whether or not the joint tenancy has been severed.
The forms (eTransfer, Request/Transmission (Form 15.1) and Notice of Intent to Sever Joint Tenancy (Form 20)) can be found here: teranetmanitoba.ca/land-titles/land-titles-forms/