Dying without a will (intestate) in Alberta means that all of your assets and property that remain will be dispersed as per the Wills and Succession Act. It can leave loved ones in a lurch and means that intentions that you may have had do not get carried out. It is one reason why establishing a will early in life is so important. If you are looking for wills and estates lawyers in Edmonton, then look no further than Verhaeghe Law Office. Our law office in Edmonton will be able to help you compose your will so that your property and assets will not be forced under the Wills and Succession Act.
If you do not make a will, then your assets will be divided up as follows. It is important to remember that the Wills and Successions Act does not take into consideration any special situation or specific needs of the remaining family, which can result in unfair situations.
If you die and leave behind a spouse, either no children or only children you had with that spouse, and have no children from a different spouse, then all of your assets and property transfers to your spouse.
If you die with children left behind but no living spouse then your children will receive equal shares of your property and assets. If any of these children have died before you but have children of their own (your grandchildren), then the percentage of your assets that would have gone to your child will be divided equally amongst the grandchildren or child.
If you die and have surviving spouse or a common-law partnership, as well as children from a different spouse you had throughout your lifetime, your assets will be split up as follows: 50% of your assets, or other amount set out by the act (whichever is greater), will go to your current surviving spouse, the remaining assets you have will be split up between your children. Again, if there are any children who have passed away previous to you who produced grandchildren, then their share of your estate will be passed down to the grandchildren.
If you do not have a spouse, children, or any other descendants when you pass away, then your estate will go to your next of kin. First, it will go to your parents in equal shares or to one single surviving parent. If both of your parents have passed away it will go to your brothers and sisters as well as to the children of any deceased brothers and sisters that you have – your nieces and nephews receiving equal portions of their parent’s share.
If you have no spouse, children, grandchildren or further descendants, parents, brother, sisters, nieces or nephews, then it would pass to any remaining blood relatives in this fashion: grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. If there is no traceable next of kin available to inherit your property and assets, then the entirety of your estate would end up going to the Alberta government, where they would be used to provide university scholarship funding or funding for research.
Establishing a will means that the people who need your estate the most have access to it. You do not want you loved ones to be put in a difficult situation because you failed to establish a will that works. You need a will, and the Probate Lawyers in Edmonton at Verhaeghe Law Office want to help you create one; having drafted some of the most complex Wills in Alberta, they know what to put in a will and what to leave out. Contact us today and protect your loved ones!
