As a family lawyer, Anna-Marie Musson has seen it all. For years, she’s helped clients navigate contracts, divorces, and complex financial matters, while guiding them through how to protect their assets and plan for the future.
But now, she’s seeing a new trend arise – and it starts with a simple question: Should your partner be on the title of your home?
Increasingly, she says, women in particular are answering yes.
It’s not necessarily because they’ve been advised to, or because their partner is contributing equally, but because it feels like a natural next step in the relationship. As Musson puts it, they see it as a signal of trust, a way of saying this home belongs to both of us now.
The problem, she explains, is that most people don’t fully understand what that decision actually does.
Some legal background
Being on the title of a property isn’t just symbolic ownership; it’s legal ownership. And in practical terms, it can change what happens if the relationship breaks down.
If one person owns the home alone, they generally can’t be forced to sell. They may need to compensate their partner financially if they split up, but they retain control of the property itself. Once a partner is added to the title, that dynamic shifts: a separation can trigger a sale of the home, regardless of who purchased or owned the home before the relationship began.
It can even force a sale at a time when one party may not want to sell, or when market conditions are unfavourable. In blended families, it can also introduce additional layers of risk, particularly when adult children or estates become involved.
“I’ve seen family cottages, family properties, properties that have emotional elements to them being forced to sell,” she says. “As soon as you add a person to the title, if you separate, break up – it could even be potentially on your passing – their estate can force the sale of that house.”
The gender imbalance
It’s a nuance Musson is seeing play out most often in second relationships, or later-in-life partnerships, where one person is already coming in with significant assets – a home, a cottage, something tied to children or family history.
And in those cases, she’s noticing a pattern of women adding male partners to the title as an expression of commitment.
What stands out to her is that she doesn’t see the same behaviour mirrored in the other direction.
Men, she says, are far less likely to add women to a title, and the women aren’t even outright asking. When they do share ownership, it tends to be in the context of buying property together, with clear financial contribution from both sides.
The result, she says, is that women are making this legal decision through an emotional lens, without fully weighing the long-term implications.
“I have asked why they want to add their partner to the title, and the answer I keep hearing is that it’s really a push from the man,” she says. “There are conversations around commitment level, that it won’t feel like their home if they aren’t listed, and the women are saying, ‘Yes, no problem.’”
“Men are seemingly being advised to ask for this, but women don’t seem to be having those conversations with their advisors or their friends, and so then we’re left in a bit of a situation.”
Why is this happening?
Part of it, Musson suggests, may simply be timing. More women are entering relationships – especially second relationships – having already bought property or built financial stability on their own.
At the same time, she’s noticing that conversations about money and ownership don’t always happen early enough between partners. Not out of avoidance, necessarily, but because those topics can feel uncomfortable.
“One of the questions I often ask clients is what happens if we don’t do this, if we don’t add them to the title, and I get a whole spectrum of responses,” she adds. “I’ve heard everything from, ‘The relationship’s probably over, and I don’t want it to be,’ to, ‘It’s going to cause a lot of problems if I don’t,’ to, ‘We both sat down, we talked about this, and this is what we want.’”
None of this means adding a partner to the title is inherently wrong, Musson stresses. But it does mean people need to understand what they’re trading off when they do it.
“There are other ways to protect a partner financially without giving up ownership of the asset,” she says. “But those conversations aren’t always happening.”
And that, for her, is the real issue.
“My best advice is if you own property, whether you’re a man or a woman, you really do need to get a prenup. You need to have something in writing,” she said.
“It is so important to have this documented so that you’re not fighting with someone over a piece of your property. It’s devastating, and it’s expensive, and it’s just not worth it. So a little bit of preparation will save a lot on the other side.”
