Dying without a will in Canada: who inherits and what to do

In short: If you die without a valid will in Canada you die intestate, and your province — not you — decides who inherits and who is put in charge of your estate. There is no national rule: each province sets its own order of heirs, its own preferential share for a surviving spouse, and even its own word for the court order that appoints someone to settle the estate. This post covers who inherits, how the spouse-and-child split differs across the country, and the step-by-step process to administer an intestate estate. CourtStairs answers questions like these in plain language, with citations to the actual statute for your province.

Two questions follow every intestate death: who gets the money, and who is allowed to hand it out. A will normally answers both by naming beneficiaries and an executor. Without one, the law fills both gaps with a rigid default — and because succession is provincial, that default changes at every border. Here is how it works, and what to do.

What does it mean to die "intestate" in Canada?

Dying intestate means dying without a valid will, so a provincial statute — not you — decides who inherits and who administers your estate. You are also partly intestate if your will fails to dispose of everything you own (a partial intestacy). Three things then follow automatically:

• A statute sets the heirs. Your province's intestacy law lists exactly who inherits and in what order — spouse, then descendants, then parents, siblings, and outward.
• The court appoints an administrator. With no will there is no named executor, so a close relative usually must apply to the court to be the estate administrator, often posting a bond.
• Minors' shares are locked up. Money left to a child under the age of majority is typically paid into court or held in trust until they come of age.

Does my spouse inherit everything if I have children?

Usually no — if you leave both a spouse and children, most provinces give the spouse a fixed "preferential share" off the top and then split the rest with the children, so the spouse rarely takes everything. The hardest case is exactly this: when you leave both a spouse and children. Almost no province gives everything to the spouse. Most take a preferential share — a fixed dollar amount off the top for the spouse — and divide the remainder. The figures below are the general rules as of 2026 for a married spouse; treat this as a map, not the final word.

Notice the different design choices. Ontario runs a flat $350,000 off the top no matter the family shape (raised from $200,000 for deaths on or after March 1, 2021). Manitoba and BC build in a blended-family adjustment — the spouse's protected share shrinks when some children are not their own, so the deceased's own kids are not shut out. Quebec, a civil-law jurisdiction, skips dollar figures entirely and splits by fractions, after first dividing the family patrimony between the spouses.

Do common-law partners inherit without a will?

It depends entirely on the province: in BC, Alberta and Manitoba a qualifying common-law or interdependent partner can inherit on an intestacy, but in Ontario and Quebec an unmarried partner inherits nothing and must be named in a will. The biggest surprise on an intestacy is how differently provinces treat unmarried partners — there is no national answer.

What is the difference between probate and administration?

Probate confirms a will and the executor named in it; administration is what happens when there is no will — a relative applies to the court to be appointed administrator (or, in Quebec, liquidator) to settle the estate. Once you know who inherits, someone has to actually collect the assets, pay the debts, and distribute the shares. This is where terminology diverges sharply — the concept is the same everywhere, but almost every province uses a different label.

In the common-law provinces the mechanics rhyme: an eligible person applies to the court, proves the death and the family tree, and receives a grant (Ontario calls it a certificate) that lets banks and land registries deal with them. Quebec runs an entirely different, notary-led system with no court application in the ordinary case.

1. Confirm there is no willSearch the deceased's records and the provincial wills registry. In Quebec, a notary searches the Chambre des notaires and Barreau registers before anything else.
2. Identify who appliesA surviving spouse or next of kin usually has priority to be appointed administrator (or, in Quebec, to act as liquidator).
3. Apply for the grantFile the application, list the assets and heirs, and pay the estate administration tax or probate fee. A bond may be required where there is no will.
4. Collect, pay debts, and file taxesGather assets, settle debts, and file the deceased's final tax return and get a clearance certificate before distributing.
5. Distribute by the statutory formulaPay out the spouse's preferential share and the children's shares exactly as the province's intestacy law directs — no discretion to depart from it.

Who inherits if there is no spouse or children?

If there is no spouse, the estate passes down a fixed family ladder: children first, then parents, then siblings and their children, then more distant relatives, and finally the province itself if no heir can be found. That ladder looks broadly similar across the country: children and their descendants first (a deceased child's share usually passes to that child's own children by representation), then parents, then siblings and their children, then more distant relatives. If no eligible relative can be found, the estate escheats to the province (called bona vacantia) — the true last resort, and the reason distant relatives are sometimes tracked down before the Crown takes anything.

Why does a will still matter?

A will lets you replace the intestacy formula entirely — choose your beneficiaries and shares, provide for a common-law partner or stepchildren the rules ignore, name a guardian for minor children, and pick your own executor. Pair it with a power of attorney and advance directive so someone can also act for you while you are alive but incapacitated — something a will cannot do. Intestacy is a one-size-fits-all default that fits almost no one perfectly, and administering an intestate estate is usually slower and more contentious than settling one with a will — leaving relatives to apply, and sometimes fight, over the role.

Why do the rules vary so much by province?

The differences are not random. Property and civil rights, including who inherits, fall under provincial jurisdiction. Each legislature has balanced protecting a surviving spouse, protecting the deceased's children, and keeping estates simple to administer. Quebec's civil-law tradition produced fraction-based shares and a notary-led settlement; the common-law provinces built dollar-based preferential shares and grant-based court appointments, several with blended-family adjustments. The recurring lesson across Canadian law holds here too: the answer is provincial, so confirm the rule for the province where the person lived.

Where CourtStairs fits

CourtStairs answers everyday questions like "who inherits if there's no will?" and "how do I apply for administration?" with citations to the primary source for your province — the Succession Law Reform Act, the Intestate Succession Act, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, or the Civil Code of Québec — so you can read the rule in the statute itself before you act on it.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Intestacy shares, preferential amounts, probate terminology and fees, and the treatment of common-law partners vary by province and change over time, so confirm the current rule against the official statute or a lawyer or notary before relying on it. If someone has died without a will, get advice early — administering an intestate estate has strict steps and deadlines.