Wills and Succession Act Alberta: What Happens When There Is No Will

A parent dies without a will, and suddenly three siblings are arguing about who gets the house. A common-law partner discovers they have no automatic right to their deceased partner's RRSP. A surviving spouse learns that half the estate could go to stepchildren they barely know. These situations play out across Alberta every week, and they all trace back to one statute: the Wills and Succession Act (WASA).

Understanding how WASA works is not optional if you are settling an estate in Alberta, whether the deceased left a will or not.

What the Wills and Succession Act Covers

WASA replaced Alberta's older Wills Act and Intestate Succession Act in 2012, consolidating everything about wills, intestacy, and dependant relief into a single statute. It governs four major areas:

Will validity and interpretation. WASA sets the rules for what makes a will legally valid in Alberta, including witness requirements, how amendments work, and what happens when a will is ambiguous. It also addresses what happens to a will after marriage or divorce — marriage no longer automatically revokes a will under WASA, but divorce revokes any gifts or appointments to the former spouse.

Intestate succession. When someone dies without a valid will, WASA's intestacy rules determine who inherits. This is where most families encounter surprises.

Dependant relief (family maintenance and support). Even when a will exists, WASA allows certain family members to challenge the distribution if they were inadequately provided for. A surviving spouse, adult interdependent partner, or minor child can apply to the Court of King's Bench for a greater share of the estate.

Survivorship rules. WASA establishes that a beneficiary must survive the deceased by at least five days to inherit. If both spouses die in the same accident and the order of death cannot be determined, each is deemed to have predeceased the other for the purposes of the other's estate.

The Intestacy Hierarchy: Who Gets What

When an Albertan dies without a will, WASA's intestacy rules create a rigid distribution hierarchy. The order matters enormously, and it does not always match what families expect.

Surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner, no children. The spouse or AIP inherits the entire estate. Alberta is one of the provinces that explicitly recognizes adult interdependent partners (common-law partners who have lived together for three or more years, or who have a child together) under WASA. An AIP has the same intestacy rights as a legally married spouse.

Surviving spouse or AIP, plus children who are also children of the spouse. The spouse receives the entire estate. This is a significant departure from older legislation — when all children are shared children of the surviving spouse, the spouse takes everything.

Surviving spouse or AIP, plus children who are not all children of the spouse. The spouse receives a preferential share (currently set at $150,000, adjusted periodically by regulation) plus 50% of the remainder. The other 50% is divided equally among all the deceased's children. This is where blended families face serious friction — the surviving spouse may need to liquidate the family home to pay out stepchildren their statutory share.

No surviving spouse. Children inherit equally. If a child predeceased the parent but left their own children (the deceased's grandchildren), those grandchildren take their parent's share by representation.

No spouse, no children. The estate flows to parents, then siblings, then nieces and nephews, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, following the standard common-law consanguinity ladder.

Dependant Relief: When a Will Is Not Final

Even with a valid will, WASA allows dependants to challenge the estate distribution. A surviving spouse, AIP, or minor child can file a family maintenance and support application if they believe the will failed to make adequate provision for their proper maintenance and support.

The critical deadline: this application must be filed within six months of the grant of probate or grant of administration being issued. Miss this window and the court will almost certainly refuse to hear the claim.

The court considers factors including the dependant's financial needs, the size of the estate, the deceased's moral obligations, and the dependant's contributions to the estate. A spouse who helped build a family business over 30 years but was left nothing in a will written after a bitter separation has strong grounds for a claim.

This is one of the key reasons that Alberta executors cannot rush to distribute estate assets. Until the six-month limitation period expires, there is always the risk that a dependant will come forward with a legitimate claim. Distributing assets before this window closes exposes the executor to personal liability.

Grant of Administration vs. Grant of Probate

When there is no will, the estate still needs court authorization — but the process changes. Instead of applying for a Grant of Probate (which validates a will), the family applies for a Grant of Administration through the Surrogate Court of the Court of King's Bench.

WASA sets the priority order for who may apply: surviving spouse or AIP first, then children, then grandchildren, then parents. A higher-priority applicant can consent to a lower-priority person taking on the role, but the court will not appoint an administrator out of order without good reason.

Unlike executors named in a will, administrators are typically required to post a surety bond to protect the estate. The bond amount usually equals the gross value of the estate. This can be waived by the court, but it adds cost and complexity that executors under a will do not face.

The Grant of Administration application uses the same GA form family (GA1 through GA5) as a probate application, plus the same $300 court file opening fee and tiered surrogate fees capped at $525 for estates over $250,000.

If you are navigating an intestate estate in Alberta, the Alberta Estate Settlement Guide walks you through the entire GA form sequence with annotated examples and a chronological checklist.

Practical Implications for Families

WASA's rules create several situations that catch Alberta families off guard:

Common-law partners must prove AIP status. Unlike a marriage certificate, there is no automatic registry for adult interdependent partnerships. If the relationship is disputed by other family members, the surviving partner may need to prove three years of cohabitation or the existence of a child together. Gathering utility bills, lease agreements, and joint accounts is essential.

Joint tenancy trumps WASA. Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant — it never enters the estate. WASA's intestacy rules only apply to assets that form part of the estate. Similarly, RRSPs, TFSAs, and life insurance with named beneficiaries bypass the estate entirely.

No statutory small estate threshold. Alberta does not define a dollar amount below which probate is automatically waived. Whether you need a Grant of Administration for an intestate estate depends entirely on what the asset holders (banks, Land Titles Office) require. The Land Titles Office always requires a grant to transfer real property held in sole name. Banks set their own thresholds, typically between $25,000 and $50,000.

Dying without a will in Alberta does not make estate settlement impossible, but it makes everything slower, more expensive, and more prone to family conflict. If you are managing an intestate estate, the Alberta Estate Settlement Guide provides the step-by-step roadmap to navigate the Grant of Administration process and WASA's distribution rules.

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