What Happens If You Die Without a Will?

What Actually Happens When You Die Without a Will?

If you die without a will, you die "intestate," and a government formula — not you — decides who inherits everything you own. Every Canadian province and every US state has an intestacy statute that distributes your estate to a fixed hierarchy of relatives, in fixed proportions, with no regard for what you would have wanted, who cared for you, or who actually needs the money. Your common-law partner may receive nothing. Your estranged sibling may receive everything. A court, not your chosen person, decides who administers the estate and who raises your minor children.

Roughly half of adults in both Canada and the United States have no will. Surveys consistently put the number at 50–57% of American adults and around half of Canadians, and the proportion is far higher for adults under 45 — the group most likely to have young children, the people with the most at stake. Intestacy is not a rare edge case; it is the default outcome for most households, and the results routinely shock surviving families.

The rules below cover both countries at a practical level. If you want a fast, personalized read on your own situation, our free Do I Need a Will? wizard walks through your family structure, assets, and jurisdiction in about three minutes, and the broader Wills & Estates wizard maps out the full planning picture.

Intestacy in Canada: Preferential Shares and Provincial Formulas

In Canada, intestate succession is provincial law, and the formulas differ meaningfully province to province. Most provinces give the married spouse a "preferential share" — a fixed dollar amount off the top — with the remainder split between the spouse and children:

Ontario: the married spouse takes the first $350,000 (the preferential share for deaths on or after March 1, 2021). With one child, the remainder is split 50/50 between spouse and child; with two or more children, the spouse takes one-third of the remainder and the children share two-thirds.
British Columbia: the spouse's preferential share is $300,000 if all children are also the spouse's children, but only $150,000 if any child is from another relationship — then the spouse takes half the remainder and the children share the other half. BC notably does include qualifying common-law spouses (two years of marriage-like cohabitation).
Alberta: the spouse or adult interdependent partner inherits everything if all descendants are also theirs; otherwise the partner takes the greater of 50% or the prescribed preferential amount, with the balance to the children.
Manitoba and Saskatchewan: similar structures, with preferential shares of $50,000 and $100,000 respectively where there are children from another relationship.

The single most dangerous gap in Canadian intestacy law: in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and several other provinces, a common-law partner inherits nothing on intestacy — no preferential share, no percentage, nothing — no matter how long the couple lived together. A partner of twenty-five years can be left with only a claim for dependant support, which means litigation against the very estate they helped build. BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba do extend intestacy rights to qualifying common-law or interdependent partners, which is exactly why "it depends on your province" is the honest answer to almost every Canadian intestacy question.

Intestacy in the United States: Fifty States, Fifty Formulas

In the US, intestate succession is state law, and the variation is even wider. Around twenty states have adopted some version of the Uniform Probate Code, under which a surviving spouse takes the entire estate if all descendants are shared and the spouse has no other children — but takes the first $225,000 plus half the balance if the spouse has children from another relationship, or the first $150,000 plus half if the decedent does.

Non-UPC states diverge sharply. In many states (including New York), the spouse takes the first $50,000 plus half the balance, with children taking the rest. In the nine community-property states — California, Texas, Arizona, Washington, and others — the spouse generally keeps all community property, but separate property is divided between spouse and children or even parents. In some states a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with the decedent's parents if there are no children. Unmarried partners receive nothing on intestacy in every US state; only a handful of registered domestic partnership regimes create an exception.

Blended families fare worst under every formula. Stepchildren who were never legally adopted inherit nothing in both countries, however long they were raised as the decedent's own. Meanwhile, biological children the decedent was estranged from for decades inherit a full statutory share. The intestacy statute knows genealogy, not relationships.

Who Administers the Estate — and Who Raises Your Children?

Dying intestate also means nobody has authority to act until a court grants it. Someone — usually the spouse or an adult child — must apply to be appointed administrator (called an "estate trustee without a will" in Ontario), typically posting a bond and paying court fees before they can touch a single account. Banks freeze accounts in the meantime; bills go unpaid; family members can compete for the appointment. The process commonly adds months and thousands of dollars compared to an estate with a valid will naming an executor.

For parents, the stakes are higher still. A will is where you nominate a guardian for minor children. Without one, a court chooses, weighing competing applications from relatives who may not share your values — and any inheritance your children receive is held by a government official or court-supervised trustee until they turn 18 (or 19 in some provinces), at which point they receive the entire amount outright, at the exact age most people are least equipped to manage it. A simple will with a testamentary trust avoids both outcomes entirely.

Intestacy also forfeits every tax and structuring opportunity: no spousal rollover planning beyond the statutory default, no charitable gifts, no trusts for disabled beneficiaries (which can destroy provincial disability benefits in Canada or SSI eligibility in the US), and no ability to exclude an heir the formula includes.

What It Costs Your Family, in Real Numbers

An intestate estate usually costs more and takes longer than a testate one. The administration application itself involves court fees, often a surety bond premium (typically 0.5–1% of the estate value per year in the US), and legal fees to sort out entitlements the deceased could have settled with a $500–$1,500 will. Probate taxes still apply on top — in Ontario, estate administration tax runs 1.5% of estate value over $50,000, a topic we break down with province-by-province and state-by-state numbers in How Much Does Probate Cost?. And when the statutory formula produces an unfair result, the only remedy is litigation: dependant support claims and family property elections routinely consume five or six figures of an estate that a two-page will would have protected.

The fix is disproportionately cheap. A lawyer-drafted will in Canada typically costs $400–$1,200 for an individual or $600–$1,800 for couples; in the US, $300–$1,200 is the common range, more with trusts. Against a preferential-share formula that can disinherit your partner or hand your children money at 18, it is the highest-return legal document most people will ever sign.

Start with our Do I Need a Will? wizard to see exactly what intestacy would do to your family, browse the Estate Planning insights hub for deeper guides, or contact us to get connected with an estate planning professional wherever you are located in Canada or the US.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to die intestate?

Dying intestate means dying without a valid will. Your province's or state's intestacy statute then distributes your estate to relatives in a fixed order and fixed shares, and a court appoints an administrator — you control none of it.

Does my spouse automatically get everything if I die without a will?

Not necessarily. In Ontario, a married spouse takes the first $350,000 and then shares the remainder with your children. Many US states use similar splits — under the Uniform Probate Code, a spouse may take the first $150,000–$225,000 plus half the balance when there are children from another relationship.

Do common-law partners inherit without a will in Canada?

In Ontario, Quebec, and several other provinces, no — a common-law partner receives nothing on intestacy regardless of how long you lived together. BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba do give qualifying common-law or interdependent partners inheritance rights.

Who gets my children if I die without a will?

A court decides. A will lets you nominate a guardian for minor children; without one, relatives can file competing applications and a judge chooses. Any inheritance is court-held until the child turns 18 or 19, then paid out in full.

Do stepchildren inherit under intestacy laws?

No. In both Canada and the United States, stepchildren who were never legally adopted have no intestate inheritance rights, even if they were raised as the deceased's own children. Only a will or adoption gives them a share.

How much does it cost to avoid intestacy with a will?

A lawyer-drafted will typically costs $400–$1,200 in Canada and $300–$1,200 in the US — a fraction of the court fees, bond premiums, and litigation an intestate estate commonly generates.