What Happens if My Common-Law Partner Dies Without a Will in British Columbia?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
If your common-law partner dies without a will, you are treated as a spouse under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act if you lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years. What you receive depends on whether there are descendants, such as children.
If there is a spouse but no descendants, the whole intestate estate goes to the spouse. If there are descendants, the spouse gets the household furnishings and a preferential share, and the remainder is split equally between the spouse and the descendants. The preferential share is $300 000 if all the descendants are also the spouse's, or $150 000 if not, or a greater prescribed amount in either case. If the net estate is less than the preferential share, the spouse takes the whole estate.
If two or more people qualify as the deceased's spouse, such as a legal spouse and a common-law partner, they divide the spousal share as they agree, and the court decides if they cannot. You cease to be a spouse if, in a marriage-like relationship, one or both of you terminated the relationship. Because estates vary, a lawyer can confirm what applies to you.
Key takeaways
- Under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, spouses include people who lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years.
- With a spouse and no descendants, the whole intestate estate goes to the spouse.
- With a spouse and descendants, the spouse gets the household furnishings and a preferential share, and the remainder is split equally with the descendants.
- People cease to be spouses if a marriage-like relationship is terminated, and where more than one person qualifies as spouse they divide the spousal share as they agree.