Survivorship (WA) | Help Centre

[Saysa]

Last updated: 19 January 2021
Jurisdiction: WA

Overview

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If a joint tenant is deceased and there is at least one surviving tenant, then the surviving joint tenant(s) can make an application to the Land Registry to have the deceased’s name removed, so that only the surviving proprietor’s name is on the Title.

In WA, a Survivorship:

• Can be processed for Joint Tenant Title,
• Can be processed for Tenants in Common Titles that have Joint Tenants groups,
• All surviving Joint Tenants must be represented in the Survivorship.

A Survivorship can be lodged as a standalone, or in combination with any of the following document types supported in PEXA:

• Discharge of Mortgage
• Withdrawal of Caveat
• Mortgage
• Transfer

Evidence Requirements

When lodging a WA Survivorship in PEXA, you are required to upload evidentiary material. You may select more than one evidence and for each evidence that you select, you must upload and attach supporting documents. PEXA accepts the following evidence types:

• Death Certificate
• Coroner’s Report
• Grant of Probate
• Letters of Administration
• Other
  Note: If selecting the evidence type of Other, you must also upload and attach a Statutory Declaration.

Steps

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1. Create the Workspace in the role of Proprietor on Title with the following settings:
   • Financial Settlement = No
2. Check that the details returned from the Land Registry are correct:

   The tenancy type is Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common with a Joint Tenancy group.

3. Mark the Proprietor as deceased:
1. Navigate to the Participants screen.
2. Select Edit Party next to the deceased party.
3. Select The Proprietor is Deceased.
4. In the Details of Death section, click Add Details of Death and enter the date of death:
   • Approximate date,
   • Actual date,
   • Date range, or
   • Date description.
5. Click Confirm.
6. Save the changes.
   The Proprietor now appears as deceased on the Participants screen.
7. Repeat Step 3 for all deceased Proprietors.
4. Represent the surviving tenant:
1. On the Participants screen, select Edit Party next to the surviving party.
2. Select I Represent this Party.
3. Check that the Party Details are correct, and provide information where required:
   
   • Name
   • Date of Birth
   • Preferred contact phone number
   • Address Details
4. Select Save 
   The Proprietor is now shown as represented on the Participants screen.
5. Repeat Step 4 until all surviving Proprietors are represented.
5. Create the Survivorship document:
   Note: You can add multiple deceased parties to a single Survivorship in WA.
   
   1. Navigate to the Documents screen and then select Create Document > Survivorship.
      Some details on this form are pre-populated from the information you entered on the Participants screen.
   2. Check the Land Title.
      If there is a single title then title will be automatically populated. Otherwise, select the correct title from the list.
   3. Under Deceased Proprietor Details, check that the deceased party is correctly listed and the following details are correct and entered:
      • Details of Death.
      • Evidence Type: To add an evidence, select an  Evidence Type then enter the Evident Document Reference ID and Evidence Date.
        You may add more than one evidence type for each deceased party by clicking Add Evidence.
      • Address: Either select an address from the drop-down or add a new one by clicking +.
        
        
        
        
   4. Check that the Applicant Details are correct and an address is entered. 
      All surviving tenants are required to be represented (in Step 4) and their details will be listed here.
      
      
      
      
   5. Save the document.
      
      The Document Status will be Prepared - awaiting attachment and won't move to Prepared until you upload and attach the evidence files.
      
      
      
6. Upload and attach the evidence:
   Each evidence must have a corresponding file attached to it. 
   1. Navigate to the Files screen.
   2. Upload your file:
      • Click Upload then Browse for your file.
      • For File Description, select a file type under Land Registry Attachment Files that corresponds with your evidence type.
        Note: If you have selected an evidence type of ‘Other’ then you must:
        • Select Land Registry Attachment Files > Other as the File Description
        • Additionally, upload and attach a Statutory Declaration. 
      • Click Upload.
   3. Attach your file:
      • From the Action column, select Attach. 
      • Select the Survivorship document. 
      • Click Attach. 
        
        The Document Status should be Prepared. 
        
        
        
7. View, Sign and Lodge the Survivorship:
   Note: The document status related to the Survivorship must be Prepared and Successful before you can sign the documents.
   If you have more than one Survivorship in the Workspace, ensure to check the order of lodgement.
   1. On the Document screen, select the View against the Survivorship(s) and review the details.
   2. On the Document screen, select the Sign against the Lodgement Instructions.
   3. Select the checkboxes for Lodgement Instructions and Survivorship(s) for all deceased Proprietors.
   4. Click Sign Documents.
      The documents will be verified with the Land Registry and once they are successfully verified and signed, you can go ahead and lodge the documents.
   5. Select Submit for Lodgement to lodge the documents with the Land Registry. 

Related topics

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• Transfer articles

[RyanC]

Further to this, Landgate have updated their e-con eligibility criteria to cater for this new scope, which can be found here (see last page):- 

https://www0.landgate.wa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/16450/Eligible-documents-for-paperless-c...

Please refer to Landgate's Practice Manual for their process requirements for Survivorship Applications:-

https://www0.landgate.wa.gov.au/for-individuals/Land-Transactions-toolkit/land-titles-registration-p... 

Landgate have also advised that when inputting the document reference details for the Death Certificate on the Application, the registration number of the Death Certificate is to be used, not the certificate number:-

Attaching your Statutory Declaration to your Survivorship Application is required, though unlike the Death Certificate, it does not need to be referenced as evidence within the actual Survivorship Application at this stage.