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Old 02-01-2012, 11:35 AM   #10
troutman
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GP_Matt View Post
Question, if you die without a will in Alberta does everything automatically transfer to your wife? I am thinking about a situation without children or a prenup where everything is in both names anyway.
I always hear that you should have a will, but have put it off with the intention of everything transferring between us and I don't really care what happens if we both die. If we both die would the families have to fight over things or is the default to split things between our respective estates and let them fight over the distribution of each half?
If this is stepping over the line of asking for free advice, feel free to let me know that I should just see a lawyer and get it done right.
If everything is owned jointly, it would simply pass to the survivor, whether or not there is a will.

When there is no will (an intestacy), the Act in your scenario would distribute an estate to the surviving spouse.

Share of spouse or adult interdependent partner
if no descendants

60 If an individual dies leaving a surviving spouse or adult
interdependent partner but no descendants, the entirety of the
intestate estate goes to the surviving spouse or adult interdependent
partner.


One of the changes in the Act:

If there is no will and a person leaves both a spouse/partner and children of the relationship with that spouse/partner, everything goes to the spouse/partner, instead of being shared between the spouse/partner and children.

Last edited by troutman; 02-01-2012 at 11:37 AM.
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