How to Register a Caveat on Property in NWT Divorce

If your spouse's name is the only one on the title to your family home, you have a problem. Nothing stops them from listing the house for sale, refinancing the mortgage, or taking out a line of credit against it — unless you register a caveat at the NWT Land Titles Office.

What a Caveat Does

A caveat is a legal notice registered directly against the property's title. Once filed, it halts all real estate transactions — sales, refinancing, new mortgages — until either you provide written consent or a Supreme Court judge orders the caveat removed.

Under the NWT Family Law Act, a titled spouse cannot dispose of or encumber the matrimonial home without the written consent of the non-titled spouse. But this protection only works if the Land Titles Office knows you exist. A bank processing a refinance application has no way to check whether the applicant has a spouse with property rights unless a caveat is on file.

When to Register

Register a caveat immediately after separation — ideally within the first week. The risk window between separation and caveat registration is when the titled spouse can act on the property without your knowledge or consent.

This is especially urgent if your relationship is acrimonious or if you suspect your spouse might try to sell or borrow against the home to reduce the assets available for equalization.

How to File

The NWT Land Titles Office accepts caveat registrations under the Land Titles Act. You'll need:

1. The property's legal description — available on the property tax assessment or the original title
2. A completed caveat form (Land Titles Form 20 for a Section 52 caveat)
3. A statement of the interest you're claiming — your entitlement to equalization of family property under Part III of the Family Law Act
4. The registration fee — approximately $50 to $100

You do not need a lawyer to file a caveat, though having one review the form reduces the risk of it being rejected for a technical error.

What Happens After Registration

Once the caveat is registered, any attempt to sell, transfer, or encumber the property triggers a notice to you. The transaction cannot proceed without either your written consent or a court order.

The caveat stays in place until the property division is finalized through a separation agreement or court order. At that point, you either receive your share of the equity and consent to removal, or the court orders the caveat discharged as part of the final settlement.

Risks of Not Registering

Without a caveat, your spouse can refinance the home and pocket the equity before the equalization calculation is even started. They can sell to a bona fide third-party purchaser, and while you'd still have a claim against your spouse for the value, recovering cash from a person who has already spent it is far harder than preventing the transaction in the first place.

The NWT Financial Split Guide includes a property protection checklist that covers caveat registration alongside the other steps you need to take in the first weeks after separation.

See more Northwest Territories guides →