How to Terminate a Co-Ownership Agreement in Calgary

Co-Ownership agreements exist to make relationships between two or more parties easier when they are acquiring property together. It is an amazing resource to have your and your partners’ best interests in mind at all times.If the agreement does not have any termination provisions, parties must follow the default provisions outlined in the Alberta Partnership Act. Communication between the parties is crucial during the termination process to ensure that everyone is on the same page. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, they may need to take legal action. To protect their rights and obligations, parties should consult with a lawyer before terminating a co-ownership agreement.

There are multiple reasons why you may want to look into having a co-ownership agreement, and all of them are better discussed with an experienced lawyer in Calgary. They have resources, and experience, in dealing with a broad horizon of situations regarding real estate or family law that deals with co-ownership agreements. They will support you by giving legal advice, answering questions, and protecting your rights and best interests.

But not everything is a bed of roses. There are situations in which the relationship between you and your partner. Or partners in the co-ownership agreement goes sour and you need to go through the process of terminating it. It is important to understand what happens if things go wrong and how to navigate it.

The next following topics let us understand a little better what is a co-ownership agreement and how to end it.

What Is a Co-Ownership Agreement 

A co-ownership agreement is an agreement between two or more parties that decide to own a property together. Each case is unique and every agreement needs to be tailored to the specific of each situation. An example, the partners may decide to have different ratios of ownership,different roles and responsibilities for the maintenance of property. Co-ownership agreements also specify how the parties can use the property, laying out the terms and conditions.

While co-ownership agreements are in no way obligatory. They exist to ensure that everything is laid out properly to avoid confusion and headaches later on due to conflicts. While talking about conflicts, Co-ownership Agreements Calgary can also lay solutions for dispute resolution and how it will be conducted if it happens.

Conflicts can become very quickly a critical problem. All parties must take the time to understand how to resolve disputes.Families often overlook this aspect when making agreements due to their trust in each other. 

Co-Ownership agreements are more common between business partners, however. And having legal representatives from both sides will ensure that fair terms are laid out in the agreement. Those representatives will defend the best interests of both parties.

But, in case things go south, what is the process of terminating the co-ownership agreement?

Terminating a Co-Ownership Agreement

 

Terminating a co-ownership agreement can be a complicated process that requires careful consideration of the agreement’s terms and the rights of all parties involved. Parties must review the agreement’s termination provisions, and if none exist, they must follow the default provisions outlined in relevant laws. Communication between the parties is crucial during the termination process to ensure that everyone is on the same page. To protect the parties’ rights and obligations and ensure that the termination process follows the correct legal procedures, parties should seek legal advice. If the parties cannot come to an agreement, legal action may be necessary. Terminating a co-ownership agreement is not a decision to be taken lightly. And parties should carefully consider their options before taking any steps towards termination.

Navigating the termination of a co-ownership agreement can be a lot of work and stress. There are multiple ways that you or your partner can leave the co-ownership agreement. But it is always advisable to have your lawyer with you while navigating this process to ensure you are not breaking any clause.

It is also important to have your expectations in check. Terminating a co-ownership agreement may involve legal fees, and will most likely take some time.

The first way to terminate the agreement is pretty straightforward – to sell the property. Depending on the circumstances, you may convince your partner(s) to sell the property as a whole and share the money accordingly. All parties will need to conduct an appraisal and agree on a price. Selling the property is not always possible as well, however. If you have a co-ownership agreement with a business partner and they are conducting business in that property. They may not want to sell it.

In those situations, it may be interesting for one of the partners to buy out the shares from the one who wants to leave the agreement. Similarly, you will want someone with experience in appraisal to evaluate the property.  After coming up with a price you believe is fair, sell your share to one of your partners. Once they are the new owners of your share, they can decide what to do with it.

If by chance the partners cannot come up with a solution for this problem – that is, neither selling your share nor selling the property itself is a possibility then this situation may need to go to Court. It is never in the best interests of any of the parties to take matters to Court. It is lengthy, expensive, and stressful.

If matters come to this situation, then more than ever you will need an experienced lawyer that you trust. That has resources at their disposal to support your case. If the case goes to Court, a judge will hear both sides, analyze the evidence, the agreement, and hear arguments from both Lawyers in Calgary and reach a legally binding decision. Many times those decisions are not what either party was seeking and can be very frustrating besides ruining the relationship with your ex-partner. Going to Court should always be your last resort for those reasons.

Overall, co-ownership agreements are incredible tools to help you and your partners in acquiring a property with fairness and terms and conditions. We explicitly lay out these steps to ensure everything runs smoothly, regardless of the purpose of the acquisition.

An experienced lawyer will support you with legal advice, and in drafting an agreement that is fair to all parties and meets everyone’s . Including dispute and conflict resolution methods to avoid unnecessary fights and going to Court.

Regardless, sometimes conflicts are unavoidable. With that in mind, we must draft co-ownership agreements well to pave a path forward on how to deal with conflicts, even. If it involves terminating the co-ownership agreement. Parties can explore options to terminate agreements without breaking ties with their partners. The clearer they lay out and talk over those solutions, the better chance they have of avoiding going to court. If going to Court is also unavoidable, always have the expertise of a lawyer with you to support your case.