What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Canada? Intestacy by Province

A 67-year-old retiree in Mississauga dies without a will. He had lived with his partner for 22 years — they never married. He has two grown children from a prior marriage. His estate, after the home and registered accounts, sits at roughly $620,000.

Under Ontario's intestacy rules, his partner inherits nothing. The estate is split between the two children. The partner has no claim on the family home she's lived in for two decades, unless she can prove a constructive trust through litigation — an expensive, uncertain process. This isn't a hypothetical edge case; it's the result the law actually produces, every week, in Canadian estates.

This guide walks through what dying without a will (dying "intestate") looks like in each Canadian province — who inherits, in what proportion, what happens to common-law partners, and what families typically have to do to clean up the mess.

What "intestate" actually means #

You die intestate if you die without a valid will. The estate is then distributed according to a fixed provincial formula, with zero ability for the deceased to override it. The provincial statute does the choosing.

Each province has its own intestacy regime, set out in legislation:

• Ontario — Succession Law Reform Act, Part II^[1]
• BC — Wills, Estates and Succession Act, Part 3^[2]
• Alberta — Wills and Succession Act, Part 3^[3]
• Other provinces — each has its own equivalent statute

Three patterns repeat across these regimes, with meaningful differences in the details.

Pattern 1 — Surviving spouse, no children #

The simplest case. In every common-law province, a surviving legally married spouse inherits the entire estate when there are no children of the deceased.

If a common-law partner survives but there are no children, the result varies wildly:

• BC, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut: common-law partners inherit on the same terms as a married spouse.
• Nova Scotia: common-law partners inherit only if they meet specific cohabitation requirements and a registration test.
• Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador: common-law partners inherit nothing under intestacy. Period. They can apply for dependant relief, but that's a separate, contested process.

Pattern 2 — Surviving spouse and children #

This is where intestacy gets complicated, because the formula splits the estate between the spouse and the children. Every province does it differently, but the underlying mechanic is the same:

1. The spouse takes a preferential share off the top — a guaranteed dollar amount.
2. The residue (everything above the preferential share) is divided between the spouse and the children according to a provincial ratio.

Approximate preferential-share amounts as of 2026:

After the preferential share, the residue is split. Common patterns:

• Ontario: if there is one child, the spouse takes one-half of the residue and the child takes the other half; if there is more than one child, the spouse takes one-third of the residue and the children share the remaining two-thirds equally.
• BC: spouse takes one-half of residue; children share the other half equally.
• Alberta: if all of the deceased's children are also children of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes the entire estate. If any child is from a prior relationship, the spouse takes the greater of the $150,000 preferential share or one-half, and the children share the remainder.

The practical complication is what happens to the family home. If the home is in the deceased's name alone (not joint), the intestacy formula can leave the surviving spouse co-owning the home with adult children — sometimes children from a prior marriage who barely know the surviving spouse. Forced sales and family conflicts follow.

Pattern 3 — No surviving spouse #

If there is no surviving spouse, the estate ordinarily passes to the deceased's descendants — children first, in equal shares per stirpes (a deceased child's share flows to that child's children).

If there are no descendants, the estate moves up the family tree:

• To the deceased's parents, in equal shares
• If no parents, to the deceased's siblings (or their children, per stirpes)
• If no siblings, to more distant relatives — aunts, uncles, cousins — under each province's "next of kin" rules

If no relatives can be located within statutory limits, the estate escheats to the provincial Crown. Provinces hold escheated estates for a period (usually 10 years) during which a claimant can come forward, after which the funds flow into general provincial revenue.

What goes outside intestacy #

A surprising amount of a typical Canadian estate doesn't actually pass under intestacy at all. The intestacy rules apply only to assets that would have passed under a will.

Outside intestacy:

• Joint tenancy with right of survivorship — title passes by operation of law to the surviving joint owner.
• Life insurance with a named beneficiary — pays directly to that beneficiary.
• RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs with named beneficiaries — pass directly to the named person (or, for spouses, as a successor holder/annuitant).
• Pension and annuity death benefits with named beneficiaries.
• Trust assets held in a properly funded inter vivos trust.

This creates an awkward outcome that catches families off-guard: someone who dies intestate may still have a "default plan" of sorts — joint property goes to the joint owner, life insurance goes to the named beneficiary — but everything else is subject to the provincial formula. Beneficiary designations that haven't been updated in years can override what the family expected.

What the family actually has to do #

When someone dies intestate, the process broadly looks like this:

1. A family member applies to the provincial court for letters of administration (in Ontario, a "Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will"). The court appoints someone — usually the closest next of kin who applies — as the administrator.
2. The administrator is often required to post a bond. Most provinces require a surety bond unless all beneficiaries consent to waive it. This adds cost.
3. Family members may need to consent or be served notice before the appointment proceeds.
4. The administrator inventories the estate, files probate, pays debts and taxes, and distributes according to the intestacy formula — not according to any wish the deceased may have expressed.

Compared to administering a clean will, the intestate process generally:

• Takes longer (the appointment step adds weeks to months upfront).
• Costs more in legal fees (more applications, more notices, more potential for dispute).
• Produces outcomes the deceased might not have chosen (common-law partner gets nothing; estranged children inherit).
• Increases the risk of family conflict during an already difficult time.

Dependant relief — the limited safety valve #

Every Canadian province has dependant-relief legislation allowing certain dependants to apply for a larger share than intestacy gives them, if the result leaves them inadequately provided for. Dependants typically include:

• A surviving spouse
• A surviving common-law partner (under some statutes)
• Minor or dependent adult children
• Sometimes, longer-term cohabitants or estranged spouses

The application has a tight time window — often 6 months from the grant of administration. It requires legal counsel, costs the estate money, and the outcome is discretionary with the court. It is a safety net, not a plan.

What writing a will actually solves #

A valid Canadian will overrides intestacy entirely. It lets you:

• Choose your executor (rather than have the court appoint one).
• Name a guardian for minor children.
• Provide for a common-law partner the law would otherwise exclude.
• Distribute assets in proportions you choose (not the provincial formula).
• Set up testamentary trusts for minor or vulnerable beneficiaries.
• Make specific gifts of sentimental items.
• Avoid most of the administrative friction the intestate process creates.

The cost of writing a basic Canadian will runs from roughly $99 (assisted online services) to $1,500+ (lawyer-drafted, complex). The cost of not writing one — measured in administrator's fees, legal fees, family conflict, and outcomes the deceased never intended — is almost always meaningfully larger.

Our will questionnaire covers the structured questions needed to produce a valid Canadian will for any province. For background, see our pillar guide on how to write a will in Canada and our overview of what probate is.