What Happens to an Estate if No Relatives Are Found in British Columbia?

Sometimes a person dies with no spouse, no children and no family anyone knows about. A friend, a landlord, a neighbour or a person named nowhere in a will may be left wondering who is supposed to deal with the estate, and whether the province simply keeps everything.

In British Columbia the province is the last stop, not the first. Before that point the law looks through a long list of relatives, and a court process is meant to confirm that no one is entitled. This article explains that order and what happens at each stage.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

The order of relatives comes first

When someone dies without a valid will, or a will does not deal with part of the estate, the intestacy rules in the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) decide who inherits. They also apply to any part of an estate that a will does not dispose of.

If there is a surviving spouse and no descendants, the whole intestate estate goes to the spouse. A spouse includes a person who was married to the deceased, or who lived with them in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years, judged at the date of death. There are exceptions. Married spouses stop being spouses if an event occurs that causes an interest in family property to arise under the Family Law Act, such as separation. Spouses in a marriage-like relationship stop being spouses when one or both of them end the relationship. Spouses are not treated as separated if, within one year after separating, they resume living together primarily to reconcile and live together for periods totalling at least 90 days.

If there is a surviving spouse and descendants, the spouse takes a preferential share first, plus the household furnishings. That share is $300,000, or a greater prescribed amount, where all the deceased's descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse. If not all of them are, the share drops to $150,000, or a greater prescribed amount. The rest is divided equally between the spouse and the descendants. If the net estate is worth less than the preferential share, the spouse takes the whole estate. If there is no surviving spouse, the estate moves down this list:

• First, the deceased's descendants, such as children, and grandchildren where a child died first.
• If there are none, the parents in equal shares, or the surviving parent.
• Next, descendants of the parents, meaning siblings, nieces and nephews.
• Then grandparents and their descendants.
• Finally, great-grandparents and their descendants.

A relative has to be alive at the right time. A person who does not survive the deceased by 5 days is treated as having died first, unless a document sets a longer period. Adoption can also change who counts. An adopted child does not inherit on intestacy from a pre-adoption parent, and that parent does not inherit from the child.

How the search for heirs works in practice

Before anyone can be appointed administrator, the applicant must swear that a diligent search for a will was made, including electronic devices and third-party repositories. A will that turns up can change everything, so this step matters even when no family is known.

The applicant must also deliver a notice of proposed application in Form P1, and cannot apply until at least 21 days after delivering it. On an intestacy, that notice goes to each intestate successor. If there is no one, it goes to the Attorney General. It also goes to each creditor with a claim over $10,000.

In practice, people looking for heirs usually start with the deceased's papers, address books, old letters, tax and benefits records, and anyone who knew them. Finding a family tree can take time, and a lawyer can help you decide how far a reasonable search should go.

Who administers the estate if no one steps forward

If no one is willing or able to be administrator, the Public Guardian and Trustee may administer the estate. It may refuse if the cost of administering would exceed the value of the estate's assets.

The court may appoint the Public Guardian and Trustee as administrator only with its prior written consent, or if the Public Guardian and Trustee applies. No grant may issue unless the Public Guardian and Trustee swears that no person in B.C. is entitled to share in the estate.

When the estate goes to the government

If no one in the statutory list is entitled, the whole intestate estate passes to the government, and the Escheat Act then applies. Under that Act, land escheats to the government when the last owner dies intestate and without lawful heirs. The Attorney General may assign personal property that passes to the government on intestacy without kin.

The Attorney General may restore escheated land to a person with a legal or moral claim, and may authorize payment of proceeds to a person with a legal, equitable or moral claim. The Act gives no direct right to apply, so a request is something the Attorney General considers rather than something you can demand.

Money held for a beneficiary who cannot be located is a separate issue. Net proceeds held by the Public Guardian and Trustee for an unlocated or unpaid beneficiary are subject to the unclaimed money rules in s. 27.1 of the Public Guardian and Trustee Act.

What to do next

• Secure the home and valuables, and keep a record of who entered and what was taken or moved.
• Search thoroughly for a will, including phones, computers and cloud accounts.
• Collect any papers that hint at family: letters, cards, address books, funeral guest lists.
• Write down every person who may be related, including half-siblings and adopted relatives.
• Make a list of known debts and creditors.
• Speak with a lawyer before approaching the Public Guardian and Trustee or the Attorney General, so you know what is expected.

Frequently asked questions