What Happens if I Die Without a Will?
A provincial statute divides your estate according to a fixed formula. In most provinces a surviving spouse receives a preferential share and then splits the remainder with the children, which is rarely what the deceased would have chosen and frequently forces a sale of the family home.
- The answer:: Each province sets a preferential share for the spouse and divides the remainder between spouse and children by formula.
- The trap:: Assuming the spouse inherits everything. Where children exist, the formula usually gives them a share regardless of need.
- The recommendation:: Write a will even where the estate is simple, because the formula does not know your circumstances and cannot be argued with.
Where the AI summary above gets this wrong
"If you die without a will, everything goes to your spouse."
That's surface-true. Here's what it misses:
- Only up to the preferential share — Provinces set a threshold amount for the spouse, and anything above it is divided between the spouse and the children.
- Common-law status varies by province — Some provinces treat common-law partners as spouses on intestacy and some do not, which can leave a long-term partner with nothing.
- The court appoints the administrator — Without a will there is no named executor, so someone must apply, and the choice may not be the person you would have named.
01 How the formula works
Each province sets a preferential share payable to a surviving spouse before anything else, and divides the balance between the spouse and the children according to how many children there are. The amounts and the divisions differ across the country.
Where the estate is largely a house, satisfying the children's share can require selling it. That outcome is not a failure of the formula; it is what the formula does when there is no will directing otherwise.
Source: What to do when someone has died
02 Who counts as a spouse
Provinces differ on whether a common-law partner inherits on intestacy. Several treat a partner of stated duration as a spouse and several do not, leaving a partner of thirty years with no entitlement at all.
A separated but not divorced spouse can also complicate matters, because a marriage that has not been formally dissolved may still confer rights. Both situations are resolved instantly by a will.
Shows: what a given amount of additional taxable income costs you in tax at your marginal rate, and what you keep. Ignores: provincial surtaxes, credits that phase out with income, and any effect on income-tested benefits.
Source: What to do when someone has died
03 What else a will controls
Beyond dividing property, a will names the executor, appoints guardians for minor children, and can establish trusts for beneficiaries who should not receive capital outright — the structure for a disabled beneficiary is in the Henson trust.
Without one, the court appoints an administrator on application, which takes time and may not produce the person the deceased would have chosen. The tax obligations that person inherits are in an executor's tax responsibilities.
Marriage and separation both change the picture, and the rules differ across the country. Several provinces have removed the old rule that marriage revokes an existing will, while separation without divorce can leave a former spouse with entitlements the deceased assumed had ended. Either event is a reason to review the document rather than assume it still says what it did.
The house is what makes this real. A formula that gives adult children a share sounds academic until the surviving spouse has to sell the home to pay it, and there is no argument available because there is no document saying otherwise.
FAQ
What happens if I die without a will in Canada?
A provincial statute divides the estate by formula, giving a surviving spouse a preferential share and splitting the remainder between the spouse and the children.
Does my spouse inherit everything without a will?
Usually not where children exist. The spouse receives a preferential share and then divides the remainder with the children under the provincial formula.
Does a common-law partner inherit on intestacy?
It varies by province. Several treat a partner of stated duration as a spouse and several do not, which can leave a long-term partner with no entitlement.
Sources
Regulator references
- What to do when someone has died · Canada Revenue Agency · 2025The final return, deemed disposition on death, and the registered plan rollover to a spouse.Last verified: 2026-09-07
- Principal residence and other real estate · Canada Revenue Agency · 2025The principal residence exemption and how only one property per family qualifies.Last verified: 2026-09-07
Calculator unit tests · the assertions this page's worked example is checked against, and their last result
Changelog
- 2026-09-07 — initial publish (new format)
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Jordan Reeves
Founder of Talk Through Wealth. A software engineer for over a decade before turning to retirement planning, Jordan built the projection engine after watching family members get fragmented, country-by-country advice that never reconciled. He writes about retirement the way the engine computes it: month-by-month, lifetime-long, and skeptical of any rule of thumb that hasn't been run through the math.