Originally posted on December 3, 2024. Updated on July 9, 2026.
If you die without a formalized will, the government will determine how to distribute the wealth you’ve built throughout your life. Each province and territory handles this process differently, but they all have one thing in common: they expose your loved ones to unnecessary stress during a difficult time and revoke your control over your money and assets. Neither are ideal circumstances, and both actively undermine the value of a well-thought-out estate plan.
Despite the downsides—and frankly, how easily they can be avoided—the numbers are stark. In the most recent Angus Reid Institute survey on the subject, half of Canadians say they don’t have a last will and testament, and a further 13% have one that’s out of date—leaving only 37% with an up-to-date will in place. Four-in-five Canadians under 35 say they lack a will, and even among those 55 to 64, only about half say theirs is current. Even at 65 and older, roughly three-in-ten still don’t have an up-to-date will.
So, what are the fine details of dying intestate? Who inherits? How are beneficiaries chosen? Who serves as executor if you haven’t appointed one? Is your entire estate at risk? What if you have a spouse and child, a business, or a property you meant to keep in the family?
Otherwise known as passing without a will, dying intestate nullifies your decision-making capability. Instead of choosing how your estate is divided and your assets are distributed, intestate succession legal processes do. Aside from individual policies and accounts that already have designated beneficiaries, your assets and debts are held by your estate.
From there, a court-appointed representative handles the financial affairs. In Ontario, this means an application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will; in Quebec, the equivalent role is filled by a liquidator. How everything is doled out depends largely on local laws and regulations, not your specific wishes.
The outcomes vary widely depending on the province or territory in question—Ontario abides by the Succession Law Reform Act, British Columbia by the Wills, Estates, and Succession Act, and Alberta by its own Wills and Succession Act.
Regardless of the location, there are some common traits when it comes to intestacy:
It’s clear that dying without a will imposes significant limitations for planning. Unfortunately, although the notion that it’s never too late to start is usually true, it is not accurate when it comes to death.
Without the necessary legal documents to elect an executor, a close family member or friend must go before the court to request the role. This isn’t a swift process, and it prolongs the entire timeline before your assets can be distributed and your loved ones can find closure.
If you’ve built a life together, your income and expenses are likely intertwined under the assumption of a two-person budget. If you pass away without a will, your assets (including your home, savings, pensions, vehicles, and more) might not automatically go to your spouse, potentially upending the entire financial arrangement.
Further complicating matters, if you die in Canada without a will, there’s a chance that certain provinces and territories, such as Ontario or Quebec, may not recognize your common-law partner as a legal spouse, and they won’t benefit from intestate succession legislation. Without property division rights, they’ll be completely omitted from the estate. This exclusion is one of the sharpest and consequences of intestacy: a decades-long common-law relationship can carry none of the protections a married spouse receives, simply because nothing was put in writing.
Every province sets its own guaranteed floor for a married or qualifying spouse before anything is divided with children—what’s known as the “preferential share.”
In Ontario, that figure is $350,000. In British Columbia, it’s $300,000 where all children are also the surviving spouse’s, or $150,000 where a child is from an earlier relationship. In Alberta, it’s $150,000 or half the net estate, whichever is greater—and only applies at all when children from another relationship are involved.
These aren’t small technicalities. On a $1,000,000 Ontario estate with one child, for example, the spouse receives the first $350,000 plus half of the remainder — a materially different outcome than an equal three-way split, and one no one in the family chose.
In some areas, legal mandates will divide your assets evenly between your surviving immediate family members. It wouldn’t work if one of your children was successful and you wanted to help their struggling sibling buy a home.
If you have minor children and haven’t written a will, a trust will hold their inherited money until they reach a certain age, usually 18 or 19. Money that could have otherwise been handled under the guidance of your surviving spouse. Instead, they’ll be greeted with a lump sum of cash they’re likely ill-prepared to manage themselves, which isn’t an ideal outcome.
Perhaps the most unnerving concept is that if you’re the only surviving parent and suddenly pass away, the court will dictate guardianship. It could be a sibling who holds very different values from how you raised your children, or a close relative with no parenting experience at all. Nobody, especially not courts, knows better than you who is best suited to protect and nurture your children. More importantly — no child should be shuffled through the legal system like that in such a stressful, traumatic time.
James Craig, Vice President of Financial Planning, notes that in a world where blended families are becoming more prevalent, the ramifications of dying without a will are further complicated, and “testamentary spousal trusts are a common strategy in these scenarios.”
When provisioned for in your will and structured correctly, these trusts offer a number of benefits, including tax deferral, wealth protection, professional management, avoidance of an early 21-year deemed disposition, and reduced probate fees.
Essentially, once you’ve passed away, your surviving spouse (or common-law partner) will be entitled to all income generated in the trust throughout their lifetime. Once deceased, the trust’s assets can be distributed to the named beneficiaries—presumably children from your first marriage—or paid out into successive testamentary trusts.
Craig articulates that these vehicles “can allow you to satisfy two of your estate planning priorities: supporting your partner until their death and ensuring the future care of your children from your first marriage.”
There’s also a case to be made for utilizing these strategies even if you don’t have a blended family. Should your widowed spouse remarry, a testamentary trust can specify that your wealth will ultimately go to your children and not to their new stepparent.
For business owners, this complexity compounds further. Private corporation shares, a family cottage, and a blended household rarely divide cleanly under a provincial formula built for simpler estates—and none of the intestacy rules above were written with a holding company or a second property in mind.
Drafting a will doesn’t have to be expensive, but dying without one usually is. Whether through simple legal fees or more costly courtroom battles between family members arguing over what they think they deserve, these expenses can quickly accumulate and drain the estate’s value.
Tax considerations are crucial for any form of financial planning, and your estate is no different. Without a will, you won’t be able to maximize tax efficiency—for example, if your surviving spouse inherits your estate, there’s minimal tax repercussion. If intestate succession laws divvy up your assets equally amongst children, your estate may be liable for taxes before beneficiaries can claim their inheritance. These are simple scenarios, but rest assured, more complex and tax-smart strategies like trust structures are equally off limits if you die without a will.
How an asset is held, not just who it’s meant for, also determines whether it ever touches the intestacy formula at all. Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes directly to the surviving owner, outside the estate—the same is true of a life insurance policy or an RRSP with a named beneficiary. Property held as tenants-in-common, by contrast, becomes part of the estate and is distributed under provincial intestacy rules. Two co-owners with what looks like the same arrangement on paper can end up with entirely different outcomes for their families, depending on which of these two structures is actually on title.
To contextualize how legal courts would divide and distribute your estate, here’s a hypothetical scenario of how it would materialize in Ontario:
You may notice a pattern here—the further down the list you go, the less likely your wealth is to support those closest to you, those who are struggling the most with your passing. In a moment when their lives have turned upside down, leaving a legal will behind can add much-needed structure.
In some cases, it’s not truly about the money but about leaving your family with one less struggle to overcome.
With convenient digital will-drafting tools at your fingertips, there’s no reason not to have a legal will in place to safeguard your family’s future and ensure your wishes are followed. Will planning is one piece of a larger wealth transfer strategy—one that also accounts for tax, estate structure, and the coordination a will alone can’t provide.
Whether it’s a simple or complex estate plan, Bellwether Family Wealth advisors are prepared to minimize taxes, maximize value, and help you find peace of mind—when tomorrow is taken care of, we can remember to enjoy today.
As part of Bellwether’s Life & Legacy Promise, clients have access to complimentary will and estate-drafting tools—a starting point, not a substitute for the fuller planning conversation this article has been making the case for.
Whether it’s a simple or complex estate plan, Bellwether Family Wealth Advisors can help you find peace of mind through tax-efficient estate and contingency planning—when tomorrow is taken care of, we can remember to enjoy today.
A provincial formula decides, not you. Typically your spouse receives a guaranteed “preferential share” plus a portion of the remainder, with children sharing the rest. Common-law partners, stepchildren, and unmarried partners are often excluded entirely, depending on the province.
You lose the ability to name an executor, choose beneficiaries, appoint a guardian for minor children, or use tax-efficient structures like testamentary trusts. A court-appointed administrator distributes your estate under provincial intestacy rules instead of your wishes.
Almost never. Your estate passes to your closest surviving relatives under provincial law. Only when no eligible relatives can be located—a rare outcome—does an estate escheat to the provincial Crown.
Assets with a named beneficiary or a surviving joint owner—life insurance policies, RRSPs and RRIFs with designated beneficiaries, and property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship—pass outside the estate and aren’t affected by intestacy rules.
This article is intended for general informational purposes and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Please consult a qualified tax professional regarding your individual circumstances.
