Passing Away Without a Will
If you don’t have a will when you pass away, you are considered to have died “intestate”, and your assets will end up being distributed by the provincial government with neither you nor family having any input on where those assets end up.
For example, in some provinces a common-law partner will inherit in the same manner as a married spouse, while in other provinces they will receive nothing upon an intestacy.
Without a will, it can also take considerably more time for the assets in the estate to be distributed to your beneficiaries.
The Intestate Succession Act:
If you do not have a will, this could happen to your estate:
|
If you leave |
Distribution by law |
|
Spouse only |
All to spouse |
|
Spouse and biological children |
All to spouse |
|
Spouse and 1 or more non-biological children |
$50,000, or one-half of the estate, whichever is greater to Spouse and one-half of any remainder of the estate after allocation of the share |
|
Separated spouse |
Nothing to spouse |
|
No Spouse, 1 or more child |
Divided equally among children |
|
No spouse or children |
Father and mother in equal shares or survivor |
|
No spouse, children, father or mother |
Brothers and sisters in equal shares |
https://www.gov.mb.ca/publictrustee/pdf/deceased_estate_handbook.en.pdf
