- Part V of the SLRA limits dependant's support claims to close family relationships.
- Being related in one of the ways above only gets you halfway.
- A legally married spouse always fits the "spouse" category.
Not everyone who feels shortchanged by a will — or by Ontario's intestacy rules — has a legal right to ask a court for more. Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) reserves a specific claim, called dependant's support, for a defined group of people the law calls dependants. Understanding who qualifies as a dependant under Ontario estate law is the first question to answer before deciding whether you have a claim at all.
The Four Recognized Categories
Part V of the SLRA limits dependant's support claims to close family relationships. In broad terms, the categories are:
| Category | Who It Covers |
|---|---|
| Spouse | A legally married spouse, or a person who meets the specific common-law definition used for this purpose (see below) |
| Parent | A parent of the deceased |
| Child | A child of the deceased |
| Sibling | A brother or sister of the deceased |
Falling into one of these categories is necessary — but on its own, it is not enough.
Two Things You Need, Not Just One
Being related in one of the ways above only gets you halfway. The claim also requires that the deceased was, immediately before death, actually providing you with support, or was under a legal obligation to provide you with support. A financially independent sibling who received nothing from the deceased and had no legal claim to anything, for example, would fit the relationship category but would still struggle to show the support element.
How "Spouse" Is Defined for This Purpose
A legally married spouse always fits the "spouse" category. A common-law partner qualifies for this purpose only if they meet a specific test: continuous cohabitation with the deceased for not less than three years, or a relationship of some permanence in which the two are the parents of a child together. Falling short of that test generally means a common-law partner has no automatic standing as a "spouse" dependant, though other categories or claims may still apply depending on the facts.
What Being a Dependant Doesn't Guarantee
Qualifying as a dependant opens the door to a claim — it does not guarantee a specific outcome or amount. You'd still need to show the will (or the intestacy distribution) leaves you without adequate provision for your proper support, and a court has broad discretion over what, if anything, to award. There is no fixed percentage or formula set out in the legislation. There is also a strict deadline: as of mid-2026, a dependant's support claim generally must be brought within six months of the estate certificate being granted (verify the current deadline before relying on it), though a court has some discretion to allow a later claim against any part of the estate that hasn't yet been distributed.
Categories That Generally Don't Automatically Qualify
People outside the four core categories — such as grandchildren, nieces and nephews, close friends, or a common-law partner who doesn't meet the three-year or shared-child test — generally have no automatic standing to bring a dependant's support claim, even if they had a close relationship with the deceased. Other legal theories may sometimes apply to their situation, but that is a separate analysis from dependant's support.
Why This Screening Step Matters Before You Go Further
Because a dependant's support claim carries a strict deadline and requires specific evidence, it's worth confirming early whether you actually fit within one of the recognized categories and can point to a genuine support relationship. Spending time building a case around the wrong legal theory — for example, treating simple disappointment with the will's contents as though it were a dependant's support claim — can waste the limited window you have to act. If you're unsure which category might apply to you, or whether the support element is realistically provable on your facts, that's exactly the kind of question worth raising with a lawyer at the outset, rather than after the deadline has started running.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to be financially needy to qualify as a dependant?
Fitting a category alone isn't enough — you generally also need to show you were actually receiving support (or were legally entitled to it) from the deceased immediately before death, and that what you were left with doesn't adequately provide for you going forward.
What if the will already leaves me something, just not very much?
You can still potentially bring a claim. Dependant's support is about whether the provision made for you is adequate, not simply whether you were included in the will at all — though what counts as "adequate" is assessed on your specific facts, not a fixed number.
Can more than one dependant claim from the same estate at once?
Yes, this happens regularly. A court can weigh multiple claims against the same estate at the same time, balancing the needs of each dependant against the size of the estate and any other legitimate claims on it.
Is there a deadline to bring a dependant's support claim?
Yes — generally six months from when the estate certificate is granted, with limited court discretion to allow a late claim against any undistributed portion of the estate. Given how strict this deadline tends to be treated, it's worth getting advice as soon as you suspect you might have a claim.
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