If you die without a will in Canada, the province decides how your estate is distributed — not you. The rules vary considerably by province, and the results often surprise the people left behind. Common-law partners may inherit nothing. Stepchildren may inherit nothing. The Crown may inherit everything. Here is how it actually works.
Intestacy is the legal status of an estate where the deceased left no valid will. The estate is then distributed according to the intestacy rules of the province where the deceased was domiciled at death, with each province having its own statutory order.
Partial intestacy can also occur — where a will exists but does not effectively dispose of all assets (a missing residue clause, a beneficiary who predeceased the testator with no backup named). The portion not covered by the will falls under intestacy rules. This is one of the most common reasons even people who 'have a will' end up with parts of their estate distributed by statute.
Ontario intestacy is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26. The basic rules:
The preferential share was increased from $200,000 to $350,000 effective March 1, 2021. This means the surviving spouse takes the first $350,000 before the remainder is divided.
British Columbia is governed by the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), S.B.C. 2009, c. 13, in force since March 31, 2014. WESA modernized BC's intestacy rules and brought common-law spouses into formal recognition.
Under WESA: a spouse with no children takes the entire estate. If the deceased had children with the surviving spouse, the spouse receives a $300,000 preferential share, then 50% of the residue (with the children sharing the other 50%). If any of the deceased's children are not also children of the surviving spouse, the spouse's preferential share drops to $150,000 with the same 50/50 residue split.
Critically, BC's WESA recognizes common-law spouses (defined as having lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years immediately before death) for intestacy purposes. This is a meaningful difference from Ontario.
Quebec applies the Civil Code of Québec to intestacy, with substantially different rules than the common law provinces.
Under Quebec succession law, the surviving married or civil-union spouse and descendants share the estate in fixed proportions: spouse takes 1/3 and descendants take 2/3 if both exist. If no descendants but ascendants and collaterals (parents, siblings) survive, the spouse takes 2/3 and the privileged ascendants/collaterals take 1/3.
Quebec does not formally recognize common-law (de facto) spouses for intestacy purposes — a common-law partner inherits nothing under Quebec intestacy regardless of how long the relationship lasted, although the 2024 Bill 56 introduced a 'parental union' regime that affects parents in common-law relationships. This remains a significant departure from BC's WESA framework and a frequent surprise to people moving between provinces.
Alberta is governed by the Wills and Succession Act, S.A. 2010, c. W-12.2. The Alberta rules are broadly similar to Ontario but with differences in the preferential share amount and the treatment of adult interdependent partners.
Alberta formally recognizes 'adult interdependent partners' (the AIP regime) for intestacy purposes — meaning unmarried partners in a relationship of interdependence may inherit similarly to a married spouse, subject to specific statutory criteria.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba have their own wills succession statutes with similar overall structures. The preferential share amounts and the precise treatment of common-law partners differ across these provinces. The point is that nothing about intestacy is uniform across Canada — the same family situation can produce different outcomes depending on the province of domicile.
Two of the most frequently misunderstood points in Canadian intestacy:
First, common-law partners. As shown in the table above, the treatment of common-law partners varies dramatically by province. In Ontario and Quebec they have no automatic intestacy rights. In BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba they may have rights similar to married spouses, subject to provincial criteria. Assuming your common-law partner will inherit because 'we have been together for 20 years' is a serious mistake — the answer is province-specific.
Second, stepchildren. Across all Canadian common law provinces, stepchildren do not inherit under intestacy unless they were legally adopted. A stepfather who raised three children from age 2 has no obligation under intestacy to leave them anything if they were never adopted. If you want stepchildren to inherit, you must say so explicitly in a will.
If the deceased dies without a will and without any qualifying relatives within the statutory degree of kinship, the estate escheats to the Crown — meaning the provincial government takes the estate. In Ontario this is administered by the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee. Each province has an equivalent office.
Escheat is rare but real. Single people without close relatives, immigrants whose only living family is overseas in countries that don't qualify under provincial rules, and elderly people who have outlived all known relatives can all end up with their estates passing to the government.
A will prevents escheat. Even a charitable bequest of the residue ensures something other than the Crown receives the estate — and most testators in this situation are happier knowing their assets went to a cause they cared about than to the provincial general revenue fund.
Beyond the question of who inherits, intestacy has substantial procedural costs.
Set against the cost of a will — $99.99 to $300 on most online platforms, $500 to $1,500 with a lawyer — the math is hard to argue with.