What Happens to Your Estate If You Die Without a Will in Alberta
Most Albertans assume their wishes will be respected when they’re gone. Without a will, the province decides — and the result rarely matches what families expected.
If you die without a will in Alberta, you are considered to have died “intestate.” That means the government’s rules take over. Your family does not automatically get to decide what happens next.
Here is what the law does instead.
The Government Has a Formula
Alberta’s Wills and Succession Act sets out exactly how your estate is divided when there is no will. It does not ask what you wanted. It follows a formula.
If you are married or in an adult interdependent relationship with no children, your spouse or partner receives everything.
If you have a spouse and children, your spouse receives the first $150,000 called the preferential share and then the remainder is split. Your spouse gets half and your children share the other half equally.
If you have children but no spouse, your children share everything equally, regardless of age, need, or your relationship with them.
If you have no spouse and no children, the estate passes to your parents, then your siblings, then more distant relatives.
What This Means for Your Family
The formula sounds simple. In practice, it creates real problems.
Your spouse may not receive enough to stay in the family home. Your children may receive assets before they are mature enough to manage them. A child from a previous relationship may receive an equal share even if that was never your intention or may receive nothing if the law does not recognize that relationship.
Common-law partners are not automatically protected the same way a legal spouse is. If you are in a long-term relationship but not legally married, your partner could receive very little — or nothing at all.
And if you have family members abroad, assets in another country, or property under a different name, the complications multiply quickly.
Who Decides What Happens to Your Children?
If you have minor children and you die without a will, you have not named a guardian. That decision goes to the courts.
A judge will decide who raises your children. It may be who you would have chosen. It may not be. The court will do its best, but it does not know your family, your values, or your wishes the way you do.
Naming a guardian in your will is one of the most important things a parent can do. It costs nothing extra to include. And it means the people who matter most to you are protected by your decision not a stranger’s.
What About Assets Outside Canada?
Many immigrant families have property, bank accounts, or investments in their home country. A will drafted in Alberta does not automatically govern what happens to those assets.
Different countries have different rules. Some will recognize a Canadian will. Others will not. Some require a separate will drafted under local law. Without any will at all, you leave your family to navigate two legal systems at once, often while grieving, often from a distance.
This is one of the most overlooked areas of estate planning for newcomer families. It deserves its own conversation.
What You Can Do Right Now
A will does not have to be complicated. For most families, the process is straightforward, but it does require intentional decisions.
You need to decide who receives your assets, who manages your estate as executor, who cares for your children as guardian, and who makes decisions for you if you become incapacitated before you pass.
These are not legal questions. They are personal ones. The legal part; drafting the document comes after you have clarity on what you actually want.
That is exactly where The Legacy Dialogue comes in. Before you sit down with a lawyer, I help you get clear on your wishes, understand your options, and walk in prepared. You save time, you save money, and you make better decisions.