Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions
Spouse and no children?
When a person dies intestate in respect of the property and is survived by a spouse and not survived by issue, the spouse is entitled to the property absolutely.
Spouse and 1 child?
When a person dies intestate in respect of the property and leaves a spouse and one child, the spouse is entitled to one-half of the residue of the property.
Spouse and 2 children?
When a person dies intestate in respect of the property and leaves a spouse and more than one child, the spouse is entitled to one-third of the residue of the property.
Children only?
When a person dies intestate in respect of the property and leaves children surviving him or her, the property shall be distributed, subject to the rights of the spouse, if any, equally among his or her children who are the nearest degree in which there are children surviving him or her.
Heirship:
Spouse
Biological Children
Share of predeceasing child
Parents
Brother and sisters
Nephews and nieces
Next of kin
Escheat
Degree of kindred
Descendants conceived but unborn
The Lieutenant Governor in Council may be regulation, prescribe the amount of the preferential share.
In Ontario, you are considered common law if the two persons have cohabited for at least one year together.
Certificate of Appointment Estate Trustee with a Will or without a Will was formerly known as letters probate, this document is issued by the court giving the Estate Trustee(s) named in the Will the power to administer the estate under the Will. Also formerly known as Letters of Administration, this document is issued by the court giving the Estate Trustee(s) the power to administer according to the applicable Laws, the Estate of a person who died without leaving a Will.
A Holographic Will is a handwritten document that speaks about the distribution of a person’s Estate.
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Definitions
Preferential Share
Preferential share is the amount prescribed by a regulation made under the Lieutenant Governor.
Participant
Participant means a person who is entitled to designate another person to receive a benefit payable under a plan on the participant’s death.
Beneficiary
A beneficiary is a person entitled to a portion of an Estate.
Cohabit
Cohabit means to live together in a conjugal relationship, whether within or outside marriage.
Dependent
Dependent means the spouse or same-sex partner of the deceased, a parent of the decreased, and a child of the deceased or a brother or sister of the deceased, to whom the deceased was providing support or was under a legal obligation to provide support immediately before his or her death.
Same-sex partner
Same-sex partner means either of two persons of the same sex who have cohabited continuously for a period of not less than 3 years or in a relationship of some permanence, if they are natural or adoptive parents of a child.
Spouse
Spouse means a person of the opposite sex to whom the person is married or with whom the person is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage, if the two persons have cohabited for at least one year, are together the parents of a child or have together entered into a cohabitation agreement under the family law act.
Testate
Testate means when a person dies with a Will.
Intestacy
Intestacy is when a person dies without a will.
Probate / Letters of Administration
Probate or Letters of Administration is authority granted to someone by the court to administer an Estate.
Estate Bond Program for Lawyers
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