What happens if someone dies without a will in Ontario?

Who inherits without a will

Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act sets a fixed order. A married spouse receives a preferential share of a set amount, then shares the remainder with children in proportions the Act sets depending on how many there are. Where there is no spouse, children inherit equally; where there are no children, the Act moves to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives in a defined sequence. A common-law partner has no automatic entitlement under this Part, whatever the length of the relationship.

Who has priority to apply to administer the estate

The Act also sets who has priority to apply for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will, generally the spouse first, then next of kin in the same order used for inheritance. More than one person with equal priority can apply jointly, or one can be asked to consent to another applying instead.

We can help you apply for the Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will and gather the consents priority requires.

What a will would otherwise have controlled

A will typically does more than distribute money: it names an executor the family already knows and trusts, appoints a guardian for minor children, sets out specific gifts and can reduce probate through planning like multiple wills. None of that exists without one. Property goes exactly where the Act says, guardianship of children is decided separately if it is contested, and there is no flexibility for a stepchild, a friend, or a charity the deceased might have wanted to include.

Common misunderstandings

A common-law spouse, however long the relationship, is not automatically an heir under Part II, though they may have other claims, a dependant's support application, or a property claim based on their contribution to a jointly used asset. Stepchildren who were never legally adopted are also not automatic heirs, whatever their relationship with the deceased.