First Sailboat Purchase Question

[Jimbeaux]

Well I’ve finally done it...I’ve just closed on my first sailboat.

The documents are all in my name as owner. I asked the broker to add my wife’s name to the paperwork but all documents by this time had been finalized and notarized and the seller was out of the country so I was denied.

How do I add my wife on as an owner? Not sure this matters but we are Canadian and the boat was purchased in the US. I wanted to get her name on before we import her - the boat that is....

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[danstanford]

….from experience it might be better to let that sleeping dog lie....

 

[leo310]

When back in Canada you"ll have to register the boat in your province. At that time you can then add your wife to the paper war.

 

[dlochner]

Congratulations! Is it safe to assume you have resolved the rudder issues?

The cross border issue is not one I am familiar with, however, for a US boat I did go the other way and deleted an owner (ex-wife). This was just a matter of her selling me her interest in the boat and then redocumenting and registering the boat.

Why not just import the boat in your name and then sell her an interest in the boat for a $1. Then register the boat in Canada under both names?

 

[capta]

I know nothing of Canadian registration, but I would assume they are similar in this regard.
Unless this is just about ego or pacification, you can save yourself immense amounts of trouble (especally filling out official documents) by just having your wife added as the owner should you pass (right of survivor or such), and not have shared ownership which often requires both signatures on the spot.

 

[nightowle]

I can't speak to Canadian law, but I have to assume that it follows the tenets of common law from England, much like the US does in this regard. As such, joint tenancy only requires the signature of one party when it comes to transfers, not both. Joint tenancy is often thought of as the "poor man's trust." It's the easiest way to shift ownership without worrying about probate. And, doesn't require the paperwork of a trust. Perhaps this is the OP's intention, that his wife would have not only equal ownership now, but easily maintain that ownership should something happen to him. The boat will need ownership registration once it's in Canada.....that would be the time to add the wife as a joint tenant.

 

[capta]

joint tenancy only requires the signature of one party

Not necessarily true is sailing internationally.

 

[DArcy]

In Canada you have two options for documenting your boat: License or Registration. A license requires the license number to be displayed on the bow where Registration requires a unique name on the bow. Licensing a boat doesn't actually ensure ownership and I'm not sure how to add your wife's name to a licensed boat. A registered boat can share ownership when registering. 100% ownership consists of 64 shares so if you want to share the boat equally with your wife register 32 shares each. There is a good page on the Canada web site about vessel registration and transfer of ownership Canadian Register of Vessels - Transport Canada

 

[Jimbeaux]

Congratulations! Is it safe to assume you have resolved the rudder issues?

The cross border issue is not one I am familiar with, however, for a US boat I did go the other way and deleted an owner (ex-wife). This was just a matter of her selling me her interest in the boat and then redocumenting and registering the boat.

Why not just import the boat in your name and then sell her an interest in the boat for a $1. Then register the boat in Canada under both names?

I negotiated a discount on the purchase price so in that sense the matter is at least temporarily resolved. Will have to get a qualified look and proper fix at some point.

I need to square away the joint ownership issue prior to import to realize a tax treatment available to her. Looking at the replies it appears there’s a solution. Thanks for the input everyone! Great community here.