Under British Columbia’s estate law, if a person passes away without a will, then that person is said to have passed away ‘intestate’ (i.e., without a will). When that happens, British Columbia’s estate law dictates how the intestate estate would be distributed.
The following is a brief overview of who would inherit the intestate estate based on sections 20-25 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (“WESA”).
If the deceased is survived by a spouse, then that spouse is entitled to the intestate estate. The amount that the spouse is entitled to depends on whether the deceased has any surviving descendants. If the deceased does not have any surviving descendants, then the entire intestate estate must be distributed to the spouse (WESA s. 20).
If the deceased has surviving descendants, then the deceased’s spouse and surviving descendants would share the intestate estate. The amount the spouse would be entitled to receive would depend on:
The deceased’s surviving descendants are all “lineal descendants” through all generations (WESA s.1(1)). In other words, the deceased’s children and grandchildren, whether related by blood, or legally adopted by the deceased.
If there are surviving descendants, then one of three different distributions would occur depending if there are:
How much would the surviving spouse receive?
In this scenario, the surviving spouse would receive:
However, if the net value of an estate is less than $300,000, then the estate would not have enough funds to satisfy the preferential share. In that case, the entirety of the intestate estate would be distributed to the spouse (WESA s.21(5)).
How much would the surviving descendants receive?
The surviving descendants would receive either:
Example of distribution
If the intestate estate has a net value of $500,000, then:
How much would the surviving spouse receive?
In this scenario, the surviving spouse would receive:
Similar to the above, if the net value of the estate is less than $150,000, then the spouse would receive the entirety of the intestate estate.
How much would the descendants not-common to both the spouse and deceased receive?
The surviving descendants would receive either:
Example of distribution
If the intestate estate has a net value of $500,000, then:
If there are surviving descendants, then the estate must be distributed to all the surviving descendants equally (WESA s.23(2)(a)).
If there are no surviving spouse or descendants, then the intestate estate would be subject to a ‘parentelic distribution’, meaning the closest ancestors to the deceased would receive the entire intestate estate. The following is the order of closeness under the parentelic system from closest to farthest:
As illustrated above, only in certain circumstances would the intestate estate forfeit to the government. However, to alleviate any concerns on the distribution of an estate, it is recommended that a will be written. By having a will, the testator can choose how his or her estate should be distributed. Of course, a will can still be contested after the testator has passed away. In that regard, please see our latest post on Estate Litigation: common reasons for contesting a will in BC.
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