When someone dies without a will in Ontario, the Succession Law Reform Act divides the estate — not the family, and not what anyone believed the person wanted. Enter an estate value to see the actual split.
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Enter the estate's net value, whether there's a surviving spouse, and how many children. The estimate updates instantly — no email required.
This assumes every child is a child of both spouses and that everything passes through the estate. Jointly held property and beneficiary-designated accounts usually pass outside it — see the section below.
The short version — the calculator above does the actual math for you.
Two provisions of the Succession Law Reform Act do the work. Section 45 gives a surviving spouse the preferential share off the top — a fixed amount set by regulation, currently $350,000 for anyone who died on or after 1 March 2021 ($200,000 for deaths before that date). Section 46 then divides whatever is left: the spouse takes half the residue where there is one child, and one third where there are two or more, with the children sharing the rest equally.
If the estate is worth less than the preferential share, the spouse takes all of it and the children receive nothing under the intestacy rules. That surprises people, and it's one of the most common reasons an intestacy turns into a family dispute.
The rules only reach what's actually part of the estate.
The calculator assumes every child is a child of both spouses. Blended families change the answer, often in ways nobody intended — a stepchild who was never legally adopted has no automatic share under these rules at all.
It also assumes everything passes through the estate. Jointly held property, registered plans (RRSPs, TFSAs, pensions) with a named beneficiary, and life insurance usually pass outside the estate entirely — by right of survivorship or direct beneficiary designation — so the intestacy rules never touch them. In most estates, that's where the real money actually is.
A common-law partner is not a "spouse" for these purposes, however long the relationship lasted. Someone who lived with the deceased for decades inherits nothing automatically under intestacy, and has to bring a dependant's support claim or a trust claim to receive anything.
Say someone dies without a will on or after 1 March 2021, leaving a $600,000 estate, a surviving spouse, and two children:
Change the spouse, child count or value in the calculator above — it uses the exact same formula. On an estate worth less than $350,000, the spouse takes all of it and the children take nothing under these rules.
The spouse takes the preferential share first — $350,000 for anyone who died on or after 1 March 2021, and $200,000 for deaths before that date. If there are no children the spouse takes the whole estate. If there is one child the spouse also takes half of what remains after the preferential share; with two or more children, one third.
No. For intestacy purposes "spouse" means a married spouse. A common-law partner inherits nothing automatically, however long the relationship lasted, and has to advance a dependant's support claim or a trust claim to receive anything.
The estate goes to the parents, then to brothers and sisters, then to nieces and nephews, then to the next of kin by degree of relationship. If nobody qualifies, it escheats to the Crown.
Usually not. Property held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving owner by right of survivorship, and registered plans and insurance with a named beneficiary pay out directly. None of that forms part of the estate, so the intestacy rules never reach it.
The spouse takes the whole estate and the children receive nothing under the intestacy rules, no matter how many children there are. This is one of the most common surprises for blended families relying on intestacy instead of a will.
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