Dying Without a Will in Alberta: What Happens Under Intestate Succession

When someone dies without a valid will in Alberta, the estate does not automatically go to the government, and the family does not get to decide how assets are split based on what seems fair. A provincial statute steps in and makes those decisions for you. That statute is the Wills and Succession Act (WSA), and it applies a rigid formula regardless of what the deceased may have wanted.

Understanding how intestate succession works in Alberta matters whether you are a surviving spouse trying to understand your rights, a family member wondering if you have a claim, or someone who realizes they need to write a will before it is too late.

Who Gets the Estate When There Is No Will

The Wills and Succession Act establishes a hierarchy. Assets flow to the highest-priority class first. If no one survives in that class, the estate moves down to the next.

Scenario 1: Surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner, no children

Everything goes to the surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner. This is the simplest intestate scenario.

Scenario 2: Surviving spouse and children who are also the spouse's children

The surviving spouse receives everything if all of the deceased's children are also the children of the surviving spouse. This prevents the estate from being fragmented between a spouse and their shared children when the children are still young and the family is intact.

Scenario 3: Surviving spouse and children from a prior relationship

This is where intestacy creates real conflict. If the deceased left behind both a surviving spouse and children from a previous relationship, the distribution splits:

• The surviving spouse receives a "preferential share" — a specific dollar amount set out in the WSA regulations — off the top of the estate
• The remainder is then divided: half to the spouse, half divided equally among all children (including the stepchildren of the surviving spouse)

The preferential share has been updated over time. Verify the current amount through the Alberta government's WSA regulations, as it is subject to change. As of the last legislative update, this figure was set at $150,000, but confirm the current figure before relying on it.

This outcome frequently surprises blended families. A surviving spouse who contributed to the marriage for decades may receive less than half the estate because children from the deceased's first marriage share in the distribution — something a properly drafted will could have addressed entirely.

Scenario 4: No surviving spouse, but surviving children

The estate is divided equally among all of the deceased's children. If a child predeceased the deceased but left their own children (grandchildren of the deceased), those grandchildren step into their parent's share through the legal doctrine of representation.

Scenario 5: No spouse, no children

If there is no surviving spouse and no descendants, the estate moves up through the family tree in this order:

1. Parents of the deceased
2. Siblings of the deceased (and their descendants if a sibling predeceased)
3. Nieces and nephews
4. Grandparents
5. More distant relatives

If no relatives can be located at any level of this hierarchy, the estate ultimately escheats — it goes to the provincial Crown.

Who Administers the Estate Without a Will

Without a will, there is no named executor. Someone must apply to the Surrogate Court of the Court of King's Bench for a Grant of Administration. This document gives the administrator the same legal authority that a Grant of Probate gives an executor.

The Surrogate Rules give priority for administration in this order:

1. Surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner
2. Children of the deceased
3. Parents of the deceased
4. Siblings
5. Other relatives
6. Creditors of the estate (in rare circumstances)

The administrator files using the GA form family — specifically the GA1 application for a Grant of Administration — and must prepare the same schedules of assets and liabilities required for a Grant of Probate. An out-of-province administrator will typically be required to post a surety bond unless they successfully petition the court to waive this requirement.

If the estate is under $75,000 and involves a minor or represented adult as a beneficiary, the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) may accept the matter directly.

The Critical Difference Between a Grant of Probate and a Grant of Administration

A Grant of Probate validates an existing will and confirms the named executor's authority. A Grant of Administration fills the same function when there is no will — it creates an administrator and gives them the authority to manage and distribute the estate.

For practical purposes — banks, the Land Titles Office, the CRA — both documents carry the same legal weight. The Land Titles Office still requires the court-sealed grant before it will process any transmission or transfer of real property, regardless of whether it is a probate grant or an administration grant.

What the Wills and Succession Act Does Not Cover

The WSA governs the distribution of assets that fall into the estate. Many assets do not fall into the estate at all, regardless of whether there is a will:

• Joint tenancy property: Passes to the surviving joint tenant by right of survivorship, bypassing the estate and the WSA entirely
• Registered accounts with named beneficiaries (RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, life insurance): Pass directly to the named beneficiary, not through the estate
• Pension death benefits: Governed by the pension plan's own beneficiary designation rules

This means an intestate estate may be much smaller than the family expects. A deceased person with substantial RRSPs, a jointly-owned home, and named TFSA beneficiaries may leave very little to flow through the intestate succession rules — possibly just personal property, a vehicle, and a bank account.

Adult Interdependent Partners and Common-Law Partners

Alberta's WSA provides specific protections for adult interdependent partners (AIPs) — what other provinces often call common-law partners. An AIP is a person who has lived in a relationship of interdependence with the deceased for at least three years, or in a relationship of some permanence if they have a child together, or who has entered into an adult interdependent partner agreement.

AIPs have the same inheritance rights under the WSA as a legally married spouse. This is a notable feature of Alberta law: a long-term partner who was never legally married can claim the same preferential share and inheritance rights as a spouse.

However, proving AIP status in a contested estate can become complicated without formal documentation. If there are competing family members who dispute the nature of the relationship, the partner may need to demonstrate their status to the Surrogate Court.

The Real Cost of Dying Without a Will

The family conflict that intestacy generates is often more expensive than the probate process itself. When the WSA's rigid formula produces an outcome that survivors disagree with, litigation follows. A blended family where the surviving spouse and adult children from a prior marriage contest their respective shares can spend more in legal fees disputing the distribution than the estate itself is worth.

A will costs a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to draft with a lawyer, or less through a notary or do-it-yourself service. The absence of a will in a complex family situation can cost tens of thousands in legal fees and permanently damage family relationships.

For anyone currently managing the estate of someone who died without a will, the process is exactly the same as probate — the same GA forms, the same surrogate court filing, the same CRA obligations — with the additional complexity that the distribution formula is fixed by statute rather than the deceased's documented wishes.

The When Someone Dies in Alberta — Estate Settlement Guide covers both testate and intestate estate administration, including how to apply for a Grant of Administration, navigate the WSA distribution formula, and manage the NGA notice requirements that apply even when you settle an estate without going to court.

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