Dying Without a Will in Nova Scotia: What Happens to Your Estate?

When a person dies without a valid will, they are said to have died intestate. In Nova Scotia, the distribution of their estate is then governed by the Intestate Succession Act — a provincial statute that sets out a fixed formula for who inherits and in what proportions. The result may bear little resemblance to what the deceased would have wanted.

Who Decides What Happens?

Without a will, there is no executor — the person you have named and trusted to administer your estate. Instead, someone must apply to the probate court for Letters of Administration, which grant legal authority to administer the estate. The court follows a priority list in deciding who gets that authority: typically a spouse first, then adult children, then other next of kin.

The administrator has the same practical responsibilities as an executor — collecting assets, paying debts, filing taxes, and distributing the estate — but without the benefit of your instructions, and often without the experience or preparation an appointed executor might have.

How Nova Scotia Divides the Estate

The Intestate Succession Act sets out the distribution rules based on which family members survive you. The key scenarios are:

Spouse and no children: The entire estate goes to the spouse.

Spouse and children: The spouse receives the first $50,000 (the preferential share), plus one-half of the remainder. The other half is divided equally among the children. If a child has predeceased you but left grandchildren, those grandchildren share their parent’s portion.

Children and no spouse: The estate is divided equally among the children, with a deceased child’s share passing to their children (your grandchildren).

No spouse or children: The estate passes to your parents, or if both are deceased, to your siblings equally. If a sibling has predeceased you, their children (your nieces and nephews) share that portion. The Act continues up the family tree through progressively more distant relatives.

No surviving relatives: If no eligible next of kin can be identified, the estate escheats — it passes to the provincial government.

What the Act Cannot Do

The intestacy formula applies a rigid mathematical distribution with no regard for the actual circumstances of the people involved. It cannot:

• Recognize a common-law partner unless they qualify as a “spouse” under the Act
• Leave anything to a close friend, caregiver, or unmarried partner
• Account for a child with special needs who should not receive an outright inheritance
• Direct a specific asset — the family home, a business, a vehicle — to a particular person
• Reduce or eliminate a share for someone with whom you had a difficult relationship
• Leave charitable gifts
• Reflect any verbal or informal promises you may have made

Common-Law Partners Are Not Protected

This is one of the most significant gaps in Nova Scotia’s intestacy rules. Under the Intestate Succession Act, a “spouse” means a legally married spouse. A common-law partner — regardless of how long you have lived together — receives nothing under the intestacy formula. They are not recognized as a beneficiary.

A surviving common-law partner may have some recourse through a constructive trust or unjust enrichment claim in court, but these remedies are complex, expensive, and far from guaranteed. A will is the only reliable way to protect a common-law partner.

The $50,000 Preferential Share Problem

The $50,000 preferential share for a surviving spouse has not been updated in many years. In a province where the average home price in Halifax now exceeds $500,000, a formula that gives the surviving spouse the first $50,000 and then splits the remainder with the children can create serious practical problems.

In a scenario where the family home is the primary asset, the surviving spouse may be forced to sell the home in order to pay out the children’s share of the estate. This is rarely what anyone would have intended.

Minor Children and the Public Trustee

If minor children are entitled to a share of an intestate estate, that share cannot simply be handed to them — minors cannot legally hold property outright. The funds must be administered by the Nova Scotia Public Trustee until each child reaches the age of majority. The Public Trustee will manage the funds conservatively and charge fees for doing so. The child then receives their share as a lump sum at age 19, with no conditions attached.

A will allows you to appoint a trusted person as trustee, set the age at which children receive their inheritance, and add conditions that reflect your values and your knowledge of your children.

The Cost and Delay of Intestate Administration

Administering an intestate estate is typically more time-consuming and expensive than administering an estate with a will. There is no named executor with authority to act immediately. The Letters of Administration process takes time and involves court fees. Family members may disagree about who should serve as administrator. And without clear instructions, disputes about asset distribution are more likely.

A straightforward estate can take significantly longer to administer intestate than it would with a properly drafted will in place.

The Simple Solution

A will does not need to be complicated to be effective. For most Nova Scotia residents, a clear will that names an executor, identifies beneficiaries, addresses minor children if applicable, and provides for a common-law partner if relevant will accomplish everything that intestacy law fails to do.

The cost of making a will is modest. The cost — in time, money, and family conflict — of dying without one can be significant.