Passing Without a Will in Alberta

Don't lose control of your estate.

The court and statutory laws determine who manages the deceased's affairs, who becomes the children's guardian, and how the intestate estate is distributed.

In Alberta, those who die without a valid Will are known as intestates, and their estates fall to intestacy. As a result, the court and statutory laws determine who manages the deceased's affairs, who becomes the children's guardian, and how the intestate estate is distributed.

The statutory rules are, for the most part, straightforward, and judges strive to consider the deceased's specific circumstances. However, the criteria are fairly strict, and the results may not be in accordance with your final preferences, which might be unjust to your family. If you want your wishes to be honoured when you die, dying without a will in Alberta is not a good idea.

Who inherits your estate?

If you or a loved one dies without a Will in Alberta, the Wills and Succession Act will make decisions for you and determine who inherits your intestate estate. Instead of personal estate planning, the legislation is an attempt by the government to construct a one-size-fits-all solution. However, because you have no influence in how your wealth is divided, this can pose serious problems for your loved ones. As a result, your estate may end up in the wrong hands, or the distribution may be different than you anticipated.

In short, if you die without a Will and leave a spouse or adult interdependent partner but no children, your spouse or adult interdependent partner (ie. spouse) will inherit your whole inheritance. If two individuals have lived together as an economic and domestic unit for at least three years, or fewer if the couple has children, they have an interdependent relationship. An adult interdependent relationship, on the other hand, emerges when two persons engage in an adult interdependent partnership agreement.

If a person dies without a Will in Alberta and leaves children to a spouse or adult interdependent partner, the surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner inherits the whole inheritance. In this instance, the law assumes that the deceased intended for the children to be cared for by the husband or adult interdependent partner. If a family's circumstance is clear, the aforementioned criteria are frequently sufficient. Even yet, some people prefer to leave a portion of their assets to their children directly.

Children from a Previous Relationship

If a deceased individual leaves behind a spouse or adult interdependent partner, as well as children from a previous relationship, the law establishes a process for calculating their respective shares. The surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner receives the larger of a preference share or half of the intestate estate, with the children splitting the remainder equally. The surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner's preference share is now $150,000 and is determined by statutory standards. This would be acceptable to many families. Still, some people might wish to alter their spouse's or partner's portion in some way.

If a person dies without leaving a spouse or adult interdependent partner, the estate is divided equally among the children. If the dead's children do not survive him but have children of their own, the children of the deceased child split their parent's portion equally. Many people, in our experience, would rather leave the grandkids out of the distribution or split the inheritance unequally among the children.

No children, grandchildren, spouse, or adult interdependent partner

The rules of consanguinity will determine who receives your property in this scenario. Consanguinity is a term that roughly translates to "blood closeness" and may be shown as a table for ease of understanding. When we use the table, we only go up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, leaving everything else out. We also expect that all relatives of the same degree will participate equally. Assume that you don't have a spouse, adult interdependent partner, children, or grandkids. In such a situation, your parents, siblings, nieces, and grandnephews will be the first in line to inherit your intestate estate. Because they are beyond the fourth degree of consanguinity, the great-grandnephews will be removed from the distribution.

Regardless of our financial condition, a properly designed Will in Alberta is a necessary document for most of us. Paralegal Plus' preparation of a will is quite affordable. If you die without a Will in Alberta, the government will decide how your estate is distributed and your family is cared for. Many families will face additional challenges and stress as a result of this, not to mention more costs, time, and strained relationships.

Look after your loved ones and prepare for the unexpected. If you need help with your wills and estates, Paralegal Plus is here to help!