If you do not have a Will yet, you are not alone.

Many Albertans put off creating one because they are busy, their family situation feels straightforward, or they assume their spouse or children will automatically receive everything.

The good news is that dying without a Will does not mean there is no process in place.

Alberta law provides clear rules for what happens to your estate if you die without a valid Will. The legal term for this is dying intestate.

The difference is choice.

When you have a Will, you have much more control over who manages your estate, who benefits from it and how your wishes are carried out. Without one, Alberta’s legislation provides the framework instead.

Understanding that framework is a helpful first step toward deciding whether your current estate plan reflects what you actually want.

When someone dies without a valid Will, their estate is called an intestate estate.

An estate generally includes the money, property and other assets that form part of what a person leaves behind. Some assets can pass outside the estate depending on how they are owned or whether a beneficiary has been named.

When there is no Will, Alberta’s Wills and Succession Act provides rules for who is entitled to inherit the intestate estate.

The Government of Alberta provides information about Wills in Alberta, and Disan Law provides a more detailed explanation of Intestate Succession in Alberta.

A useful way to think about it is this:

If you do not create your own estate plan, Alberta law provides a default one.

For some families, that default may be relatively close to what they would have chosen. For others, particularly blended families or families with more complicated relationships or assets, it may not be.

Alberta law establishes an order for who can inherit when someone dies without a Will.

Who receives the estate depends on the family members who survive the deceased person.

This may include:

• a spouse
• an Adult Interdependent Partner
• children and other descendants
• parents
• siblings
• other relatives

The exact distribution depends on the family situation.

This is where the difference between legal entitlement and personal intention becomes important.

The law can determine who is legally entitled to inherit.

It cannot know that you wanted a particular family member to receive a sentimental item, that you hoped to leave something to a close friend, or that one of your children may need additional financial support.

A Will allows those personal decisions to become part of your estate plan.

Sometimes a surviving spouse may receive the entire intestate estate, but that should not be assumed in every situation.

Your family structure matters.

For example, the rules can become different when there are children from another relationship.

This is particularly important for blended families.

You may want your current spouse to be financially secure while also ensuring that your children from a previous relationship receive part of your estate.

Neither goal is unusual.

The value of estate planning is that you can think about both.

Instead of relying on assumptions about what will happen, a properly prepared Will allows you to create a plan that reflects the family you actually have.

In everyday conversation, most people say “common-law partner.”

Alberta legislation generally uses the term Adult Interdependent Partner.

A qualifying Adult Interdependent Partner can have inheritance rights when a person dies without a Will.

However, family structures are not always simple.

There may be questions about whether a relationship legally qualifies. There may be children from previous relationships. In some circumstances, there may be questions involving both a spouse and an Adult Interdependent Partner.

These are situations where planning ahead can be particularly valuable.

A clear estate plan gives your family more information about what you intended rather than leaving important decisions to assumptions.

For more information about Alberta’s intestacy rules, see Disan Law’s guide to Intestate Succession in Alberta.

One of the biggest misconceptions about Wills is that they are mainly for people with significant wealth.

A Will is really about decision-making.

It gives you the opportunity to think about questions such as:

Who do I trust to handle my estate?

Who do I want to benefit from what I have built?

What should happen to my home?

How should an inheritance for my children be managed?

Are there people outside my immediate family I want to include?

Are there personal or sentimental belongings I want specific people to receive?

What happens to my business interests?

These questions can matter whether your estate is worth $100,000 or several million dollars.

The value of a Will is not simply measured by the size of the estate.

It is also measured by the clarity it can provide.

When you prepare a Will, you can choose someone you trust to administer your estate.

Most people know this person as an executor. The broader legal term is personal representative.

A personal representative may be responsible for identifying assets, dealing with debts and taxes, completing necessary legal steps and distributing the estate.

Without a Will, there is no executor personally selected by you.

Instead, an eligible person can apply to the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta for a grant of administration.

This gives that person legal authority to administer the estate.

The Government of Alberta provides more information about the administration of deceased persons’ estates.

The estate can still be administered without a Will.

Having a Will simply allows you to make an important decision in advance:

Who do I trust to do it?

For parents, estate planning often becomes much less about property and much more about protection and planning.

A Will can allow you to document important wishes relating to your minor children.

It can also help you think through how an inheritance should be managed while a child is still too young to manage it independently.

That distinction matters.

Leaving an inheritance to an adult child who has an established career and financial independence is very different from leaving one to a young child.

A thoughtful estate plan can consider not only what your children receive, but also how and when they receive it.

The Government of Alberta provides additional information regarding assets belonging to minors.

For parents, this is one of the strongest reasons to think of a Will as a planning document rather than simply a document about death.

The answer depends partly on how you own it.

Not every asset necessarily passes through an estate in the same way.

For example, jointly owned property can be treated differently from property registered only in the deceased person’s name.

This is an important estate planning point because your Will should not be looked at in isolation.

A strong estate plan considers how your major assets are legally structured and how they work together.

For many Albertans, their home is their largest asset. Understanding how ownership affects what happens after death can help ensure the estate plan accomplishes what was intended.

Disan Law assists clients with Wills and broader Estate Planning in Alberta.

No.

This is an important point that is sometimes missed.

Certain assets may have a named beneficiary. Others may be jointly owned. Depending on the asset and how it is structured, it may pass outside the estate.

This means estate planning is more than drafting a Will.

It can involve looking at:

• your Will
• your home and other property
• bank and investment accounts
• insurance
• beneficiary designations
• business interests
• jointly owned assets

The goal is to make sure these pieces work together.

A well-written Will is valuable, but a well-considered estate plan looks at the bigger picture.

A person’s valid debts generally need to be addressed by their estate before the remaining estate property is distributed to beneficiaries.

This can include obligations such as:

• loans
• credit card balances
• taxes
• certain expenses related to the estate
• other valid debts

The personal representative is responsible for properly administering these obligations as part of the estate.

This is why estate administration is more than simply distributing money or property.

There is a legal process to follow, and having organized records and a clear estate plan can make that process easier to navigate.

When someone dies without a Will, an eligible person may need to apply to the Court of King’s Bench for a grant of administration.

This does not necessarily mean there will be a court battle.

A grant is a formal legal document giving the personal representative authority to administer the estate.

Similarly, even when someone has a Will, a court grant may still be required depending on the estate and the assets involved.

The important distinction is that a Will allows you to nominate the person you want to handle your estate.

A better question may be:

Are there decisions you would rather make yourself?

You may have more to plan for than you realize.

You might have:

• a home
• savings
• investments
• a vehicle
• children
• a spouse or partner
• a business
• life insurance
• sentimental belongings
• digital assets
• specific people you want to provide for

You do not need to be wealthy to have an estate.

And estate planning does not need to be intimidating.

For many people, it starts with a straightforward conversation about what they own, who matters to them and what they would like to happen.

A Will answers important questions about what happens after death.

But there is another question worth considering:

What happens if you are alive but unable to make decisions for yourself?

This is where two other Alberta estate planning documents become important.

An Enduring Power of Attorney can provide authority for someone to deal with certain financial and legal matters if you lose capacity.

A Personal Directive allows you to provide instructions and appoint someone to make certain personal decisions when you are unable to make those decisions yourself.

Together, these documents can form an important part of a broader estate and incapacity plan.

The Government of Alberta provides information about Personal Directives and Enduring Powers of Attorney.

Disan Law also assists clients with Wills, Estate Planning, Powers of Attorney and Personal Directives.

What is the legal term for dying without a Will?

The legal term is dying intestate.

Alberta’s Wills and Succession Act then provides rules for how the intestate estate is distributed.

Does my spouse get everything if I die without a Will in Alberta?

It depends on your family situation.

A surviving spouse may receive the entire intestate estate in some circumstances. Different rules can apply when there are descendants from another relationship or other family circumstances to consider.

Can a common-law partner inherit without a Will in Alberta?

Yes. A qualifying Adult Interdependent Partner can have inheritance rights under Alberta’s intestacy laws.

Whether someone qualifies and how the estate is distributed depends on the circumstances.

Who becomes the executor if there is no Will?

There is no executor selected by the deceased person.

Instead, an eligible person can apply for a grant of administration. Once appointed, that person acts as the estate’s personal representative.

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

No.

Alberta law establishes an order of people who may inherit an intestate estate. An estate does not simply become government property because there is no Will.

Do I need a Will if I am young?

Age alone does not determine whether estate planning is useful.

If you have children, a spouse or partner, property, investments, a business or specific wishes about who should benefit from your estate, there are good reasons to consider creating a Will.

When should I review my Will?

It is worth reviewing your Will when your life changes.

Marriage, separation, divorce, children, a new relationship, buying property, starting a business or significant changes in your finances can all be reasons to review your estate plan.

If you die without a Will in Alberta, there is a legal process in place.

Your estate can still be administered. Your debts can be addressed. Alberta law provides rules determining who is entitled to inherit.

So the purpose of making a Will is not to create a process where none exists.

It is to give you more control over that process.

You can choose who you trust to administer your estate.

You can clearly document who you want to provide for.

You can think ahead about your children.

You can consider your home, business and other important assets as part of one larger plan.

And you can give the people closest to you greater clarity about what you wanted.

You do not need to have all the answers before getting started.

You just need a starting point.

Disan Law helps Albertans create clear, practical estate plans based on their families, assets and priorities.

Learn more about Disan Law’s Wills & Estates services, read our guide to Intestate Succession in Alberta, or contact Disan Law at 587-440-4726 or [email protected] to start the conversation.

This article provides general legal information only and does not constitute legal advice. Estate and succession matters depend on individual circumstances. Speak with a lawyer about your specific situation.