It is not uncommon to encounter situations where an individual dies without a will, having never been married, widowed, separated or divorced and without children. It can, however, be uncommon to come across situations where an individual dies under these circumstance but also leaves behind no known close relatives or next of kin. When this occurs, the question that immediately arises is: who will inherit the deceased person’s estate?
In Ontario, the distribution of the estate of an unmarried, childless person who has died without a will is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “Act”). The Act provides a statutory scheme that sets out classes of individuals who will inherit on such a persons’ intestacy. The order of entitlement is as follows:
- Parents;
- Siblings;
- Nieces and Nephews; and finally,
- Next of Kin.
When none of the above individuals can be identified or located, section 47(7) of the Act states that the property of the deceased person becomes the property of the Crown, and the Escheats Act, 2015 applies.
Depending on the circumstances, individuals without a family may wish to consider if there is a charitable organization or community activity that they belong to that they would prefer to benefit from their estate under a will. In the alterative they may wish to take proactive steps to locate their distant relatives during their lifetime.
Some other Articles you may be interested in reading:
Getting “Escheated” out of an Inheritance Get to know your distant relatives What happens if you do not have a Will?
Thank you for reading.
Lisa