A Toronto lawyer who specializes in estates and trusts says she was âsomewhat shockedâ to learn the wealthy popstar Prince appears to have not left a will.
At the same time, however, Suzana Popovic-Montag said she was not entirely surprised, considering how common it is for people to put off estate planning.
âOnly about half of Canadians have a will and that dumfounds me,â she told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel.
Popovic-Montag said Princeâs estate will now be divided up based on Minnesota state rules, and the same thing happens when Canadians donât leave wills.
âWhy would you want the government deciding?â she said.
Hereâs a look at what might happen to a person who dies without a will, in three Canadian provinces.
the estate goes entirely to the spouse, unless there are children. If there are children, the spouse gets the first $200,000 and the rest goes to children, grandchildren and other descendants.
If there is no spouse, but there are children, then the children split it. However, if any of the dead personâs children have died, a grandchild or grandchildren can inherit their share.
If there are no spouses, children or grandchildren, then the dead personâs parents get whatâs left â assuming theyâre living. If not, it goes to brothers and sisters.
After that, even more distant blood relatives can make a claim.
Common-law spouses -- those who lived with the deceased but werenât legally married to them -- do not inherit anything, according to
specifies that the spouse gets the entire estate, unless there are children.
Unlike Ontario, common-law partners who have lived together âfor at least two years in a marriage-like relationship immediately before deathâ count as spouses, according to the
If there are children, the spouse gets the first $300,000 of the state and the rest goes to children. If the children donât also belong to the surviving spouse, however, he or she only gets the first $150,000 plus half of whatâs left.
If there are no spouses or children, then the estate goes to the parents. If the parents arenât alive, the estate is divided among brothers and sisters.
is more complicated. In one common scenario, one-third of the estate goes to the spouse and two-thirds is divided among the children. Common law spouses are entitled to nothing.
If there is no spouse but there are children, it is divided equally amongst them.
If there are no children or spouses, then half will go to the dead personâs parents and half to brothers and sisters. If there are no parents, itâs divided among brothers and sisters. And so on.
The Government of Canada all Canadians hire a lawyer to help prepare a will. It says not to rely on âwill kitsâ alone.