Inheritance law in Canada

Updated on Dec 02, 2023

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Inheritance law in Canada is constitutionally a provincial matter. Therefore, the laws governing inheritance in Canada is legislated by each individual province.

Intestate succession

Where a person dies intestate, the following general rules apply:

Where the spouse survives, all the estate goes to the spouse.

Where there is a spouse and a child or children, the estate is divided as follows:

Where there is no surviving spouse but there are surviving children, the estate is divided equally among the children.

Where there is no surviving spouse or children, the estate devolves according to the rules of consanguinity.

Where no heir can be determined, the estate is declared bona vacantia and escheats to the Crown.

References

Inheritance law in Canada Wikipedia

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