Do half-siblings inherit under Ontario's intestacy rules?

Yes, half-siblings can inherit under Ontario's intestacy rules, but how they share depends on whether full siblings also survive. Under the Succession Law Reform Act, if the deceased left both full siblings and half-siblings, a half-sibling inherits the same share as a full sibling. Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act treats siblings of the whole blood and the half blood equally at the same degree of relationship.

If only half-siblings survive (and no full siblings), they inherit equally, as there is no full sibling to compare. There is no provision reducing a half-sibling's share relative to a full sibling — the two inherit equally whether or not both categories are present.

This rule can produce surprising results in blended families where some children share both parents with the deceased and others share only one. It is worth understanding how this formula would apply to your own family, since a will can override these default rules entirely and allow you to treat all siblings equally — or differently — as you choose.