02 JAN 2019:  Each year in Canada, about 6,000 aircraft change hands. But while some ownership transfers are simple, increasingly complicated transactions involving multiple parties, extensive documentation, searches and registrations have necessitated the use of third-party intermediaries.

Traditionally, Canadian deals have been overseen by one of the big aviation escrow agencies concentrated in Oklahoma City, Okla., where the American title registry is located. These firms collect and hold all documentation and purchase funds, in escrow, until all conditions are met. Once the deal is finalized and closing occurs, documents and funds exchange hands, and the necessary registrations are made.

But while these agencies can guarantee a clean title to the aircraft in a US deal–and even issue title insurance–they can only perform “perfunctory” Canadian title checks due to differences in our legal system.

Read it all in Skies: