Common Law Partner Rights After Death in Ontario

Common-law partners in Ontario face a legally dangerous split: federally, they have full access to CPP survivor pensions and OAS benefits. Provincially, under Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act, they have no automatic inheritance rights whatsoever. If your partner died without a will and the two of you were not legally married, you do not automatically inherit anything — not the house you shared, not the savings, not even the personal property in the home.

This legal gap catches thousands of Ontario families every year. Here is what common-law partners can and cannot claim, and what the dependant support claim process looks like for those who need it.

The Federal vs. Provincial Split Explained

Federally (Canada-wide): The federal government recognizes common-law partners for most income support purposes after one continuous year of conjugal cohabitation. A common-law partner can:

• Claim the CPP survivor's pension (60% of the deceased's retirement pension if you are 65 or older, or a flat-rate plus 37.5% if under 65)
• Access the Allowance for the Survivor if you are 60–64 and have low income
• Receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement as a single person
• Be named as a beneficiary of the deceased's RRSP, TFSA, and pension plan if designated

To claim the CPP survivor pension as a common-law partner, you must complete Form ISP-3004 (Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union) and submit it with your benefit application to Service Canada. The declaration requires supporting documentation — joint lease or mortgage, shared utility bills, joint bank account statements, or consistent cross-referencing on tax returns — to prove continuous cohabitation for at least one year.

Provincially (Ontario): The Ontario Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) defines "spouse" for intestate succession purposes as a legally married spouse only. A common-law partner has no automatic entitlement under Ontario intestacy law, regardless of how long the relationship lasted. This means:

• If your partner died without a will, you receive zero under the default distribution rules
• The estate passes first to any surviving legally married spouse (from a prior undivorced marriage), then to children, then to parents, then to siblings — all before you
• You have no automatic right to remain in the shared home, even if you lived there for decades
• The $350,000 preferential share that a married spouse would receive? It does not apply to you

This is not a technicality that sympathetic courts routinely overlook. It is the default rule, and the default is your enemy if your partner died intestate.

What to Do Immediately

If your common-law partner has died without a will, three actions are time-sensitive:

1. Document your cohabitation history now. Gather joint lease agreements, shared utility bills, joint bank account statements, health insurance cards showing shared address, and any tax returns where you or your partner listed the other as a common-law partner. This documentation supports both your federal benefit claims and any provincial legal action you take.

2. Get legal advice before assets are distributed. If the deceased had any Ontario assets in their sole name — bank accounts, investments, real property — do not allow those to be distributed to other heirs without taking advice from an estate litigator. Once assets are distributed, clawback is difficult and expensive.

3. Consider whether assets pass outside the estate. Not all assets require probate or intestacy distribution. If the deceased named you as a beneficiary on an RRSP, TFSA, life insurance policy, or pension plan, those assets pass directly to you outside the estate and are not subject to Ontario's intestacy rules. Check all financial accounts and insurance policies immediately.

The Dependant Support Claim

Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act contains a separate provision — Part V — that allows a dependent of the deceased to apply to the court for support from the estate, even if they are not entitled to inherit under the will or the intestacy rules.

A common-law partner qualifies as a "dependant" under the SLRA if they were being supported, or were entitled to be supported, by the deceased immediately before the death. Courts have interpreted this broadly to include partners who shared finances, even informally.

The court has discretion to order support from the estate in whatever form it considers appropriate — this can include a lump sum payment, a right to occupy the matrimonial home for a period, or an ongoing periodic payment. The order is against the estate, not against other beneficiaries personally.

Critical deadline: A dependant support application under the SLRA must be filed within six months of the issuance of a probate certificate (the Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee). If the estate does not go through probate, the limitation period becomes more complex. Do not wait — engage a lawyer as soon as possible.

The strength of a dependant support claim depends on factors including: the length and nature of the relationship, the financial interdependence of the parties, the dependent's needs and resources, and the size of the estate. There is no formula; the court weighs all circumstances.

What If There Is a Will That Excludes You

If your partner left a will but did not include you, or left you less than what a dependant support claim might yield, the same SLRA Part V process applies. You can bring a dependant support application even against the terms of a valid will. The same six-month limitation period from probate applies.

RRSP and TFSA Beneficiary Designations

These deserve special mention because they operate outside the estate entirely. If the deceased named you as the beneficiary of their RRSP or TFSA on the institution's beneficiary form, you are entitled to receive those funds directly — regardless of the will, intestacy rules, or what any court might order in a dependant support proceeding.

However, if the deceased named their "estate" as the beneficiary, the RRSP or TFSA funds fall into the estate and are subject to Ontario probate and the intestacy rules, meaning you may receive nothing. The same applies to life insurance: if no named beneficiary was designated or if the beneficiary died before the policyholder, the proceeds go to the estate.

Contact the financial institution and insurer immediately after a death to check the beneficiary designations on all accounts. This is one of the most important things you can do in the first week.

Common-Law Partners and the Family Home

If the couple owned the home jointly with right of survivorship, title transfers to you automatically as the surviving joint tenant — no probate required, no court application necessary. You file a survivorship application with the Land Registry Office using Form 9 and a copy of the death certificate.

If the home was in the deceased's sole name, you have no automatic right to it under Ontario law. You can remain in possession as a practical matter while the estate is administered, but the executor has the authority to sell the property or transfer it to other beneficiaries under the intestacy rules. A dependant support application can seek an order allowing you to remain in the home for a period, but this requires urgent legal action.

If the home had a mortgage, contact the lender immediately. Do not assume the mortgage terminates with the death or that you automatically assume responsibility for it — the answer depends on whether you were a co-borrower, a guarantor, or neither.

Common-law partners navigating Ontario's split legal landscape — federal benefit claims, RRSP beneficiary processes, potential dependant support applications — are managing multiple legal systems simultaneously while grieving. The Ontario Survivor Benefits Navigator covers what you can claim federally, the documentation you need, and the provincial timelines that determine whether you protect your position or lose it by default.

See more Ontario guides →