Why Every Couple Should Rethink Individual vs. Joint Investment Accounts

Losing a spouse is devastating. Losing access to the family’s savings on top of that? Heartbreaking—and more common than many Canadians realize. Imagine waking up after your partner passes away, only to discover that a $400,000 investment account is frozen. Months drag on while the courts approve the will, thousands in probate fees vanish into government coffers, and you’re left scrambling to pay the bills.

The culprit is often surprisingly simple: non-registered investment accounts held in only one spouse’s name.

The Hidden Snag in Non-Registered Accounts

If a non-registered account is held individually, it doesn’t automatically pass to a surviving spouse. Instead, it becomes part of the estate and is subject to probate—the court-supervised process of validating the will and confirming the executor’s authority. Depending on the province, probate can take months or even over a year.

During that time, a surviving spouse may be locked out of the account. Meanwhile, the fees add up. In Ontario, probate costs about 1.5% of an estate’s value. In British Columbia, it’s $14 per $1,000 of estate value above $50,000. On a $500,000 account, that means between $6,300 and $7,500 in fees alone.

A Real-Life Example

Take John and Mary, a couple from Vancouver. John holds a $400,000 non-registered investment account; Mary has her own $300,000. When John dies suddenly in January, his account is frozen. Mary can’t access the funds.

The executor applies for probate, and in B.C. the process stretches until November—ten long months. Mary ends up paying household expenses from her own savings and even turns to a line of credit. More than $5,000 in probate fees are deducted from John’s estate. What should have been a straightforward transfer between spouses becomes a drawn-out ordeal.

Joint Ownership: A Simple Fix

If John and Mary had held their account jointly with rights of survivorship, none of this would have happened. The account would have passed automatically to Mary. No freeze. No fees. No waiting. She could continue covering expenses without interruption.

Many Canadians assume that converting an individual account to a joint account will trigger taxes. It doesn’t. The adjusted cost base and unrealized gains carry over. A deemed disposition only occurs when the assets are sold, or at death—when the spousal rollover allows the surviving spouse to inherit at the original cost base. It’s one of the most effective estate planning tools available to married couples.

When One Spouse Is a U.S. Citizen

For cross-border couples, joint ownership can still make sense—but with extra complexity.

Here are the key considerations:

1. No new cost basis – The original purchase price carries over; moving assets into a joint account doesn’t reset it.
2. No immediate tax hit – Simply transferring the account into joint ownership doesn’t create a taxable event in either Canada or the U.S.
3. Attribution rules (Canada) – The CRA continues to attribute income back to the original Canadian owner.
4. IRS reporting headaches (U.S.) – American tax slips (1099s) usually report 100% of income under one spouse’s name. If the couple doesn’t file jointly, an accountant must adjust the return to avoid IRS notices.
5. Gift reporting – If the Canadian spouse effectively “gifts” more than $100,000 (USD) into the joint account, the U.S. spouse may need to file IRS Form 3520. While it isn’t a tax, penalties for missing the filing can be steep.

Bottom line: the transfer usually isn’t taxable, but it can trigger additional compliance costs. In Ontario, probate fees of 1.5% on a $1 million account amount to $15,000. If annual U.S. tax compliance costs are lower than that, joint ownership may still be worthwhile. Each couple should weigh probate savings against cross-border reporting obligations, ideally with guidance from a cross-border advisor and U.S. tax accountant.

Why Children Shouldn’t Be Added Jointly

Some Canadians try to avoid probate by adding adult children as joint owners. On paper, it looks like an easy fix. In practice, it often creates bigger problems.

Adding a non-spouse is treated as an immediate deemed disposition. For example, Susan, a widowed mother in Ontario, holds a $300,000 non-registered account. She adds her daughter Emily as a joint owner. Tax law treats this as if Susan sold half the account at today’s value. Suddenly, she faces a $50,000 taxable capital gain—with no cash in hand.

The risks extend beyond taxes:

• Family conflict – Other children may feel excluded, sparking resentment or legal disputes.
• Loss of control – Once added, Emily legally owns half. If the relationship changes, Susan has given away more than she intended.

A safer option is to keep accounts in your name while using wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations on registered accounts and insurance. This preserves control, avoids immediate taxes, and reduces the risk of family disputes.

The Takeaway

• Individual non-registered accounts can leave families facing months of delays and thousands in probate fees.
• Joint accounts with a spouse can provide seamless transfer, immediate access, and tax deferral through the spousal rollover.
• Cross-border couples need to balance probate savings with potential U.S. reporting obligations.
• Adding children as joint owners creates risks: unexpected taxes, creditor exposure, and family conflict.

A little planning today can save your loved ones months of stress and thousands of dollars tomorrow. In a time of grief, that peace of mind is priceless.