When someone dies without a valid will, they die “intestate”, and their province’s intestacy law decides who inherits, in a fixed order that takes no account of what they would have wanted. A court appoints an administrator to settle the estate, and no one has been chosen as guardian for minor children. This page explains how those rules work, province by province. It is part of our estate planning guide; the steps to make a will are in how to make a will in Canada, and what each route costs in how much a will costs.
What dying without a will changes
| Situation | Without a will | With a will |
|---|---|---|
| A common-law partner | Inherits nothing in some provinces | Receives what you leave them |
| A guardian for minor children | No one has been named; a court decides | The person you named is the starting point |
| A child’s inheritance | Held for the child under provincial rules, then paid out at the age of majority | Can be held in trust to an age you choose |
| Gifts to friends or charities | Not possible | Made as you directed |
| Who settles the estate | An administrator appointed by the court, who may need to post a bond | The executor you named |
Intestacy rules by province
Each province sets a “preferential share” (a first amount) for the surviving spouse when there are children, then splits the rest.
| Province | Spouse and children | Common-law partners |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | The spouse takes everything up to a preferential share of $350,000 (for deaths on or after March 1, 2021); of the rest, the spouse receives one-half with one child, or one-third with more than one child | “Spouse” for intestacy means a married spouse, so a common-law partner inherits nothing |
| British Columbia | A preferential share of $300,000 if all the children are also the spouse’s, or $150,000 if not; then one-half of the rest to the spouse | Included as a spouse after living in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years |
| Alberta | The whole estate goes to the spouse or adult interdependent partner if all the children are also theirs; otherwise the greater of a prescribed amount or half of the estate, with the rest to the children | Adult interdependent partners share in the estate like spouses |
| Quebec | One-third to the married or civil-union spouse and two-thirds to the children | De facto (common-law) spouses have no intestate rights |
With no spouse, the estate usually goes to the children equally, then to parents, then to siblings and more distant relatives. The other provinces have similar preferential-share rules with their own amounts; the province’s intestate succession law is the authority. Because rules for common-law partners vary so much, couples who aren’t married are more exposed; see common-law relationship finances.
What a will covers that intestacy can’t
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Executor and alternate | Who settles the estate, without a court appointment |
| Guardian and alternate | Who would raise minor children |
| Specific gifts | Items or amounts to named people or charities |
| Residue clause | Who receives everything else |
| Trusts | Money held for minor or disabled beneficiaries, or paid in stages; see testamentary vs inter vivos trusts |
| Funeral wishes and digital assets | Guidance for the family and authority to deal with online accounts |
Making a will also lets you plan around probate: assets with a named beneficiary or held in joint tenancy pass outside the estate, while everything else goes through it; the fees and ways to reduce them are in probate fees by province. Online services make a basic will quick to set up; they are compared in the best online will services.