Wills and Estate Planning Basics in Canada

Roughly half of Canadian adults have no will, and many who do haven't looked at it in a decade. Yet a will is the only document that lets you decide who inherits your property, who winds up your affairs, and who raises your children if the worst happens. Without one, a provincial formula decides for you.

Important: This guide is general information, not legal advice. Estate law is provincial, highly fact-specific, and changes regularly. Before signing a will, power of attorney, or trust document — or if you're administering an estate — consult an estate lawyer (or a notary in Quebec or British Columbia) licensed in your province.

Why Most Canadians Need a Will

A will does four things no other document can do all at once:

• Names your beneficiaries — who gets what, in what shares, and on what conditions
• Appoints your executor (called an estate trustee in Ontario and a liquidator in Quebec) to carry out your wishes
• Nominates a guardian for minor children
• Creates trusts — for example, holding a child's inheritance until age 25 instead of handing it over at 18

Even modest estates benefit. A valid will typically speeds up bank and land-title transfers, reduces legal costs, and prevents family disputes. If you own a home, have children, live common-law, run a business, or have a blended family, the case for a will is even stronger — several of those situations are handled badly (or not at all) by the default provincial rules below.

Dying Without a Will: How Intestacy Works

Dying without a valid will is called dying intestate. Each province has its own statute dictating who inherits, and the formulas differ more than most people expect. A court must also appoint an administrator — usually a family member who applies for the job — which adds delay and cost. Four examples show how varied the rules are:

Ontario

Under Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act, a married spouse receives a preferential share of $350,000 (for deaths on or after March 1, 2021) before anything else is divided. If there is one child, the spouse and child split the remainder equally; with two or more children, the spouse gets one-third of the remainder and the children share the rest. Critically, common-law partners inherit nothing automatically in Ontario — no matter how long the relationship lasted.

British Columbia

Under BC's Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), the spouse's preferential share is $300,000 if all of the deceased's children are also the spouse's children, but only $150,000 if any child is from another relationship. The remainder is then split half to the spouse and half among the children. BC does recognize common-law spouses who lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years.

Alberta

Alberta's Wills and Succession Act gives the entire estate to the surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner if all of the deceased's descendants are also that partner's descendants. If there are children from another relationship, the partner receives the greater of $150,000 or half the estate, and the descendants share the balance.

Quebec

According to the Government of Quebec's legal-succession distribution table, when someone dies intestate leaving a married or civil-union spouse and children, the spouse receives one-third of the succession and the children two-thirds (after family patrimony and matrimonial-regime rules are settled). De facto (common-law) spouses have no inheritance rights under Quebec's intestacy rules — a major trap in a province where common-law relationships are especially widespread.

Types of Wills

1. Formal (witnessed) wills

The standard across Canada: typed or printed, signed by you in the presence of two adult witnesses who also sign. Witnesses (and their spouses) generally should not be beneficiaries, or their gifts can be void.

2. Holograph wills

A will written entirely in your own handwriting and signed, with no witnesses. Most provinces — including Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick — accept holograph wills. British Columbia and PEI do not formally recognize them, although a BC court can "cure" a non-compliant document under section 58 of WESA if it clearly records the deceased's final wishes. Holograph wills are better than nothing in an emergency, but they're a frequent source of ambiguity and litigation.

3. Notarial wills (Quebec only)

Quebec recognizes three forms of will: notarial, holograph, and a will made before witnesses. A notarial will is prepared and signed before a notary, who keeps the original and registers it. Its big advantage: it takes effect at death without court probate, while holograph and witnessed wills in Quebec must be probated by the court or a notary — adding cost and weeks of delay.

4. Online will platforms vs. lawyers (2026 costs)

• Online platforms (Willful, Epilogue, LegalWills, and others): roughly $99–$250 for a legally valid will, and most bundles now include powers of attorney. Fine for simple situations — married, straightforward assets, everything to spouse then kids.
• Lawyer-drafted wills: typically $400–$800 for a simple individual will and roughly $800–$1,500+ for couples or anything complex. Worth the premium if you have a blended family, a business, foreign or multi-province property, a disabled beneficiary who needs a trust (for example, to protect disability benefits), or family members likely to challenge the will.
• DIY stationery kits: legal if executed properly, but errors in signing formalities are common and can invalidate the whole document.

Choosing an Executor

Your executor gathers assets, pays debts and taxes, files the final tax return, applies for probate if needed, and distributes what's left. It's often 12–18 months of paperwork, and executors are personally liable for mistakes like distributing the estate before getting a tax clearance certificate from the CRA.

Choosing well:

• Pick someone organized, trustworthy, and likely to outlive you — and ask them first
• Prefer someone in your province; out-of-country executors can trigger bonding requirements and tax complications
• Name at least one alternate
• For complex or high-conflict estates, consider a trust company or professional executor

Compensation: Executors are entitled to fair payment from the estate unless the will says otherwise. In Ontario, courts commonly use a guideline of roughly 5% of the estate's value (structured as percentages of amounts received and paid out); other provinces use "fair and reasonable" standards with similar outcomes. Executor compensation is taxable income — family members who are also major beneficiaries often waive it, since inheritances are not taxed but fees are.

Powers of Attorney: Planning for Incapacity

A will only speaks at death. If illness or injury leaves you unable to manage your affairs while alive, you need incapacity documents — and every province names them differently:

• Ontario: a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property (finances) and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care (health and living decisions). The Ontario government publishes a free do-it-yourself kit, though the province recommends legal advice for complicated situations.
• British Columbia: an Enduring Power of Attorney for finances and a Representation Agreement for health and personal care.
• Alberta: an Enduring Power of Attorney for finances and a Personal Directive for personal and medical decisions. According to the Government of Alberta, every adult Albertan should have both documents plus a will.
• Quebec: a protection mandate (mandate in case of incapacity) covers both person and property — but it only takes effect after homologation, a court process requiring medical and psychosocial assessments confirming incapacity.

Without these documents, your family — including your spouse — cannot automatically step in. According to the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, relatives may need to go to court to be appointed guardian, and the provincial Public Guardian and Trustee can end up managing your affairs as a last resort.

Beneficiary Designations: Assets That Bypass Your Estate

Registered accounts and insurance can pass directly to a named person, outside your will and outside probate:

• RRSPs and RRIFs — name a beneficiary (or "successor annuitant" for a spouse on a RRIF)
• TFSAs — name your spouse as "successor holder" (the account stays tax-sheltered) or anyone as beneficiary
• Life insurance — proceeds go straight to the named beneficiary, tax-free
• Employer pensions — spouses usually have priority rights by law

Because these assets skip the estate, they avoid probate fees and reach beneficiaries in weeks instead of months. Two big caveats:

1. Designations override your will. An ex-spouse still named on a 2010 RRSP form can inherit it despite what your new will says. Review designations after every major life event.
2. Quebec is different. Beneficiary designations on RRSPs and TFSAs made directly with financial institutions are generally not effective in Quebec — these assets pass through your will or marriage contract, though insurance-based products do allow designations.

Probate Fees by Province

Probate is the court process that confirms a will and the executor's authority. Banks and land registries usually demand it before releasing significant assets. What it costs varies enormously:

• Ontario: According to the Ontario Ministry of Finance, the Estate Administration Tax is $0 on the first $50,000 and $15 per $1,000 (1.5%) above that. A $1 million estate pays $14,250. Since 2025, Estate Information Returns can be filed online, and one must be filed within 180 days of the estate certificate being issued.
• British Columbia: no fee on estates under $25,000; then 0.6% between $25,000 and $50,000 and 1.4% above $50,000, plus a $200 filing fee for estates over $25,000. A $1 million estate pays roughly $13,650 all-in.
• Alberta: flat court fees ranging from $35 to a maximum of $525 (for estates over $250,000) — among the lowest in Canada, whether the estate is $300,000 or $30 million.
• Quebec: a notarial will skips probate entirely. Holograph and witnessed wills must be probated, which involves modest court or notary fees rather than a percentage-based tax.

Common probate-reduction strategies — joint ownership with right of survivorship, beneficiary designations, multiple wills for private-company shares (used in Ontario and BC) — can work, but each has tax and legal side effects. Adding an adult child as joint owner of your house, for instance, can trigger capital gains, expose the home to the child's creditors, and spark litigation. Get advice before restructuring anything just to dodge a 1.4% fee.

Taxes at Death: What the CRA Actually Collects

Canada has no inheritance tax or estate tax. Beneficiaries do not pay tax on what they inherit. Instead, the deceased's estate settles up through the final tax return:

• Deemed disposition: the CRA treats you as having sold all capital property (stocks, rental properties, cottages, business shares) at fair market value the moment before death. Unrealized capital gains become taxable on the final return.
• Registered accounts: the full value of RRSPs and RRIFs is added to income on the final return — often the single largest tax hit — unless rolled over. TFSAs pass tax-free.
• Spousal rollover: assets and registered accounts left to a spouse, common-law partner, or qualifying spousal trust transfer at cost, deferring all tax until the survivor sells or dies. This is why "everything to my spouse" wills usually trigger little immediate tax.
• Principal residence exemption: gains on your principal residence remain tax-free at death, though the estate must still report the disposition.
• Clearance certificate: the CRA advises executors to obtain a clearance certificate before distributing the estate; otherwise the executor can be personally liable for unpaid taxes.

Don't Forget Digital Assets

Email, cloud photos, crypto wallets, loyalty points, domain names, online businesses, and social media accounts are all part of a modern estate — and executors routinely get locked out.

• Keep an inventory of accounts (not passwords) with your estate documents
• Use a password manager with an emergency-access feature, and tell your executor it exists
• Give your executor explicit authority over digital assets in your will
• Set up platform legacy tools: Apple's Legacy Contact, Google's Inactive Account Manager, Facebook's memorialization settings
• For cryptocurrency, plan seed-phrase access carefully — without it, the asset is simply gone

Guardianship of Minor Children

Your will is the place to name a guardian for children under the age of majority, plus an alternate. Discuss it with the person first, and consider parenting values, location, age, and finances.

In most provinces the appointment is not automatically final. In Ontario, for example, a guardianship appointment in a will is temporary — effective for 90 days — during which the guardian must apply to court for a permanent order; the court decides based on the child's best interests but gives real weight to the parents' written wishes. Also remember that minors cannot inherit directly: without a trust in your will, a child's inheritance may be managed by a provincial official until the child turns 18 or 19 — then paid out in a lump sum to a teenager. A simple testamentary trust staggering payments (for example, at 21 and 25) solves this.

When to Update Your Will

Review your estate documents every three to five years and after any of these events:

• Marriage: historically, marrying revoked an existing will. That rule has been abolished in BC (2014), Alberta (2012), Saskatchewan (2020), and Ontario (for marriages on or after January 1, 2022), and it doesn't apply in Quebec — but in some provinces, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, marriage can still revoke a will. Never assume; check your province's current rule.
• Divorce or separation: in many provinces, divorce cancels gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as executor (the rest of the will stands); Ontario now extends similar treatment to separated spouses in defined circumstances. But rules vary, and beneficiary designations on RRSPs and insurance are not always cancelled automatically.
• New common-law relationship — especially in Ontario and Quebec, where partners have no automatic inheritance rights
• Births, adoptions, deaths of beneficiaries, executors, or guardians
• Buying property, starting a business, or moving provinces (your will usually remains valid, but provincial differences may make an update wise)
• Significant changes in wealth — an estate plan built for $200,000 may be tax-inefficient at $2 million

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does my common-law partner automatically inherit if I die without a will?

It depends entirely on your province. BC treats partners in a marriage-like relationship of two-plus years as spouses for inheritance. Alberta gives similar rights to adult interdependent partners. But in Ontario and Quebec, common-law partners inherit nothing under intestacy rules — they may have to sue the estate as a dependant (Ontario) or rely on jointly held assets and insurance (Quebec). If you live common-law in those provinces, a will isn't optional.

Is a handwritten will legal in Canada?

In most provinces, yes — a holograph will written entirely in your own handwriting and signed needs no witnesses in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and New Brunswick. BC and PEI don't formally recognize them, though BC courts can validate a defective document under WESA's curative provision if it clearly reflects your intentions. Treat a holograph will as a stopgap, not a plan.

How much does a will cost in 2026?

• Online platform: $99–$250, usually including powers of attorney
• Lawyer, simple will: $400–$800 individual; $800–$1,500+ for couples or complex estates
• Quebec notarial will: commonly a few hundred dollars up to about $1,000 — and it avoids probate later

The real comparison isn't the sticker price: dying intestate or with a defective will routinely costs an estate thousands in legal fees and months of delay.

Can I avoid probate fees?

Partially. Assets with valid beneficiary designations (RRSPs, TFSAs, insurance), jointly owned assets with right of survivorship, and assets in certain trusts bypass the estate. In Quebec, a notarial will avoids probate altogether. But aggressive probate avoidance — like putting your house in joint names with an adult child — can create capital gains tax, creditor exposure, and family disputes far more expensive than the fee saved. Alberta's maximum $525 fee, for example, is rarely worth planning around at all.

Does the executor get paid?

Yes, unless the will says otherwise. Compensation must be fair and reasonable; the common Ontario guideline works out to roughly 5% of estate value, with courts adjusting for complexity and effort. The fee is taxable income to the executor, so family members who are also beneficiaries often decline it.

Is there an inheritance tax in Canada?

No. Beneficiaries pay no tax on inheritances. The estate pays instead: the deceased's final return reports deemed-disposition capital gains and the value of RRSPs/RRIFs, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. Provincial probate fees (up to about 1.5% in Ontario and 1.4% in BC) are the other cost — an administration charge, not an inheritance tax.

What happens to my RRSP when I die?

Its full value is taxed as income on your final return — potentially at the top marginal rate — unless it rolls over to a spouse or common-law partner (or, in limited cases, a financially dependent child or a dependent child with a disability). Naming your spouse directly on the account (outside Quebec, where designations generally go in your will) both defers the tax and keeps the money out of probate.

Do I need a new will if I move to another province?

A will that was valid where you made it is generally still valid after a move, but a review is smart: executor logistics change, probate costs differ, family-law rights differ, and a move to or from Quebec (a civil-law system with notarial wills) almost always justifies fresh documents.

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When to Get Professional Help

An online will suits many simple situations, but bring in professionals if any of these apply:

• Estate lawyer: blended family, dependants with disabilities, business ownership, foreign property, a family member likely to challenge the will, or you're an executor facing a dispute
• Notary (Quebec, BC): notarial wills and protection mandates in Quebec; wills, POAs, and representation agreements in BC
• Accountant / tax professional: final returns, deemed disposition planning, post-mortem planning for private company shares, CRA clearance certificates
• Financial planner: coordinating beneficiary designations, insurance, and registered accounts with the will

Costs:

• Estate lawyer: $300–$600/hour; simple wills often flat-fee $400–$800
• Notarial will (Quebec): a few hundred dollars, offset by skipping probate
• Accountant for a final return: $500–$2,500 depending on complexity

ROI: an hour of legal advice before signing routinely prevents five-figure litigation after death.

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Your Estate Planning Checklist

Core documents:

• Valid, signed will that reflects your current wishes
• Power of attorney for property/finances (name varies by province)
• Power of attorney for personal care / personal directive / representation agreement / protection mandate
• Documents stored safely — and your executor knows where

Executor and beneficiaries:

• Executor (and alternate) chosen, asked, and willing
• Beneficiary designations on RRSPs, TFSAs, pensions, and insurance reviewed in the last 2 years
• Designations checked after any marriage, separation, or divorce
• Quebec residents: registered-account beneficiaries addressed in the will itself

Family protection:

• Guardian (and alternate) named for minor children
• Trust terms set so children don't inherit lump sums at 18
• Common-law partner protected by will and designations (especially ON and QC)

Maintenance:

• Digital asset inventory and access plan in place
• Will reviewed within the last 3–5 years
• Executor has a basic asset list (accounts, insurance, property, advisors)

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Related Topics

• File Your Personal Taxes in Canada - The final return, deemed disposition, and estate tax filings
• Retirement Investing in Canada - RRSP, RRIF, and TFSA beneficiary strategies
• Buy Your First Home in Canada - Joint ownership and the principal residence exemption
• Understanding Health Insurance in Canada - Planning for care costs and incapacity

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Corrections Policy

Refdesk.ca is committed to accuracy. Estate planning information on this page is verified against official sources, including the Canada Revenue Agency, the Ontario Ministry of Finance and Ministry of the Attorney General, and the governments of British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. Content is updated quarterly to reflect legislative changes, fee schedules, and program updates. This page provides general information only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice; consult a licensed estate lawyer or notary in your province before acting on it. If you find an error, outdated information, or broken links, please report it to [email protected] with the subject line "Wills & Estates Topic - Correction Request." We review all submissions within 48 hours and update content as needed, posting a dated correction notice for significant errors. This guide was last reviewed on July 9, 2026.