Does the government inherit my estate if I don’t have a Will?

A question that often arises is what happens to a person’s estate if the person does not have a Will.  If a person dies without having made a Will, they are said to have died “intestate”.   Clients often ask if their estate will be given to the government if they don’t have a Will. The answer is usually, “No”.  

Alberta (like all other provinces) has legislation that deals with intestate estates. The Wills and Succession Act sets out how an estate is to be distributed if a deceased person does not have a Will. First, the legislation states that if the deceased had a spouse and/or an adult interdependent partner (AIP) and had no children, grandchildren, then their entire estate would go to their spouse and/or AIP.

Second, if there is a spouse AND an adult interdependent partner (AIP), then half of the share that does go to the spouse is divided between the spouse and the AIP.  

Third, if there is a spouse/AIP and descendants of the deceased (i.e. children or grandchildren), then the entire estate goes to the spouse if the descendants are also the descendants of the spouse (i.e. if they have children or grandchildren together).  

Fourth, if there is a spouse/AIP and descendants who are not descendants of the surviving spouse/AIP, then the estate is divided between the spouse and the descendants. The spouse receives 50% of the net value of the estate or $150,000.00 (whichever is greater) and the descendants receive the rest.

Fifth, if there is no spouse and no descendants (children or grandchildren), then the parents of the deceased inherit the estate. If there are no parents of the deceased, then the siblings of the deceased inherit.  If the deceased is not survived by siblings, then the grandparents inherit. If there are no grandparents, then the aunts and uncles (i.e. the deceased’s grandparents’ children) inherit.  If the uncles and aunts of the deceased have not survived, then the deceased’s cousins inherit.  If there are no cousins and a great-grandparent survives, they inherit.  

Only if there are no siblings, parents, grandparents, nieces/nephews, aunts/uncles, and cousins, and great-grandparents would the government of Alberta (the “Crown”) inherit under the Unclaimed Personal Property and Vested Property Act of Alberta.

A couple of years ago, we obtained a grant of administration for an estate where the deceased died intestate. He was not married, had no children or grandchildren, his parents, siblings, grandparents and great-grandparents had all pre-deceased him and he had no nieces or nephews. This resulted in his estate being divided among 42 beneficiaries (two aunts and 40 cousins).  Had he made a Will, the estate administration process would have been much faster (and less costly) and he would have control as to who would inherit his assets and who would administer the estate.

Therefore, dying without a will does not mean that your estate will go to the government automatically, it does mean that you will lose control of who gets your assets. In addition, it may cause delay in dealing with your estate as someone will need to apply to Court to be appointed as the administrator of your estate as there is no Will with a named executor. The administrator may not be a person that you would have chosen for this task. This also means additional legal expenses. If the distribution scheme as outlined above is not what you want, then you need to have a will in place.