What Happens to an Estate With No Heirs in Manitoba?

When someone dies without a valid will and no close family seems to be around, people often assume the government simply takes everything. In Manitoba, that is the very last step, not the first one. The law first looks through a long list of relatives, some of them quite distant.

This article explains how that order works, how a short survival rule can change the result, and what the Public Guardian and Trustee (the PGT) does when nobody else steps forward. It also covers what to do if you think you might be a distant relative of someone who has died.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

The order of relatives under The Intestate Succession Act

When there is no will, The Intestate Succession Act decides who inherits. A spouse or common-law partner comes first. If there are no children or other descendants, the spouse or partner takes the entire estate. Where there are descendants and all of them are also descendants of the survivor, the survivor still takes the whole estate.

Where some descendants are not also the survivor's, the survivor takes the greater of $50,000 or one-half of the estate, plus one-half of any remainder, and the rest goes to the descendants. Whatever the spouse or partner does not take, or the whole estate if there is no spouse or partner, goes first to the issue, meaning children and then more remote descendants.

If there are no surviving issue, the estate, or the part not taken by a spouse or partner, goes to the parents in equal shares, or to the surviving parent. If there is no issue and no parent, it goes to the issue of the parents, which means siblings and the children of a deceased sibling. After that, grandparents and their issue take, and then great-grandparents.

The list is long, so true "no heirs" cases are rare

The Act reaches well beyond immediate family. Within a class of descendants, shares are worked out by counting each surviving person in the nearest degree of kinship, plus each deceased person in that degree who left surviving issue.

• Spouse or common-law partner
• Children and other descendants
• Parents
• Siblings, and nieces and nephews through a deceased sibling
• Grandparents and their issue, then great-grandparents
• The Crown, only if no one qualifies

A common-law partner includes someone who registered the relationship, or who lived with the deceased in a conjugal relationship for at least three years, or at least one year if they were together the parents of a child. A partner who was separated may be treated as having died first in some situations, so the facts matter.

The 15-day survival rule and the Crown

A person who does not survive the deceased by 15 days, not counting the day of death of each, is treated as having died before the deceased.

There is an important exception. The rule does not apply if applying it would result in the estate going to the Crown. The estate goes to the Crown only if there is no successor under the Act.

The Public Guardian and Trustee as administrator of last resort

Someone has to gather the assets, pay debts and distribute what is left. If no suitable person will do it, the PGT may step in. The PGT describes itself as an administrator of last resort, acting only when no one else is willing, capable and appropriate. Examples include where it already acted for the person, where the court asks it, or where no one resident in Manitoba can act or there is a dispute.

If the deceased left property in Manitoba and no grant has been issued here, the court may appoint the PGT as administrator on the PGT's application. Unless the court orders otherwise, that application cannot be made until 120 days after death if there is a will, or 30 days if there is none. The PGT is not required to accept an appointment just because it has the power to, unless a court orders it.

Where the PGT was already managing the person's affairs, the rules differ. It may keep managing the property until a court appoints an executor or administrator, paying debts including funeral expenses and collecting assets. For smaller estates the PGT had acted for, it may act without a grant: it can give personal articles to family, sell other property to pay debts and funeral expenses, and distribute to next of kin or beneficiaries. If none can be found, the balance goes to the Minister of Finance.

If you think the PGT should not be the administrator, a court can revoke a grant made to the PGT and issue it to another eligible person. The applicant must serve the PGT at least 10 days before the hearing. If all interested persons are capable adults who consent, the PGT must not oppose.

If you might be a distant heir

To ask about a deceased estate, call the PGT office, say the call is about a deceased estate, and give the deceased's last name. You will be connected to the Estates Department. If you think you may be an heir, give the deceased's last name and your relationship. The PGT does not charge for this, and people found to be heirs are told how to prove their identity.

The PGT's main office is at Suite 500, 155 Carlton Street, Winnipeg, with a Brandon office at 340 - 9th Street, Room 131. The Winnipeg number is (204) 945-2700 and the toll-free number is 800-282-8069. Unscheduled drop-in service is not available.

What to do next

The deceased's personal papers can help the PGT identify next of kin, so keep them available and do not discard them. Estate assets must cover debts before any beneficiary inherits.

• Keep letters, address books, photos, certificates and other personal papers safe.
• Search carefully for a will before assuming there is none.
• Write down your relationship to the deceased and any family tree details you know.
• If you are a possible heir, contact the PGT Estates Department with the last name and your relationship.
• If funeral costs are a worry, know that the executor, next of kin or a friend can arrange the funeral and the estate pays.
• Speak with a lawyer if you want to apply to administer the estate yourself or dispute who should inherit.

Frequently asked questions