What is a Dower clause?

‘ Dower rights are the interest that a person has in real property owned by his or her spouse. If one person owns property during a marriage, his or her spouse has a 1/3 life estate interest in that property.

What does it mean to release dower rights?

People who buy or sell a home in Alberta, often hear about Dower rights. The Dower Act creates Dower rights. This legislation gives a married person, who is not on title to a home, a life interest in their home or homestead. A Dower release is a mechanism where a person gives up their rights under the Act.

What is the purpose of dower rights?

Today, dower rights protect the spouse of a registered owner of real property (a house on land). The Dower Act requires the spouse who is not on title to consent to any disposition of land. A disposition of land usually comes up as the sale or mortgaging of the property.

When does a spouse have a dower right?

Dower rights are the interest that a person has in real property owned by his or her spouse. If one person owns property during a marriage, his or her spouse has a 1/3 life estate interest in that property. Usually this interest comes up in the context of a will of a deceased party,…

When to include dower rights in a deed?

What this means when a married individual wants to transfer real property that he or she owns in his/her own name, a release of dower rights signed by the grantor’s spouse will be included in the deed. Many mortgage lenders will also want a borrower’s/guarantor’s spouse to release dower rights in connection with the mortgage loan.

How does dower rights affect the transfer of real property?

Dower Rights Effect on the Transfer of Real Property. If you are married and go to transfer real property or mortgage real property, your spouse will be asked to sign a release of his or her ‘dower rights.’ Dower rights are the interest that a person has in real property owned by his or her spouse.

Is there a way to get around dower rights?

There are a few ways to get around dower rights. The easiest one is to get a dower consent for a specific transaction. You can also get a dower release that will release dower rights as against a specific property. This release can be revoked if the releasor wants to do so.