Do we need a will in Canada?

If you have children, a home or savings in Canada, a Canadian will lets you choose who inherits and who looks after your children. Each province has its own rules, and your UK will may not do the job on its own.

What happens without a will

Each province has its own rules for people who die without a will (intestacy). A formula decides who inherits, and someone has to apply to court to manage the estate. That takes longer and costs your family more.

• Ontario: a married spouse takes the first C$350,000, then shares the rest with your children. An unmarried (common-law) partner has no automatic share, however long you’ve lived together, and would have to make a claim in court
• BC: a spouse, including a partner you’ve lived with in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years, takes the first C$300,000 if all your children are also theirs, or C$150,000 if not, plus a share of the rest
• Quebec, Alberta, Nova Scotia and the other provinces have their own formulas, which differ in the detail
• Separation can end a spouse’s rights in some provinces, even before a divorce

Your UK will and a Canadian will

A will made in the UK can be valid in Canada if it was properly made under the law where you signed it or where you lived. Using it here is still slow, because the Canadian court may need proof of UK law and a UK executor may struggle to act from abroad. Many people keep a UK will for UK assets and make a Canadian will for Canadian ones (sometimes called situs wills).

• A new will usually starts by cancelling all earlier ones. Ask your lawyer to word each will so it only covers its own country
• Name executors who can act in each country
• Most provinces need two witnesses who aren’t beneficiaries or the spouse of a beneficiary. Rules on handwritten wills vary
• In Quebec, a will made before a notary doesn’t need probate
• Review your wills when you marry, separate or divorce

Naming a guardian for your children

You can name a guardian in your will to look after your children if both parents die. The court still has the final say, based on the children’s best interests, but takes your choice seriously.

• Ask the people you choose first, and name a back-up
• If family are in the UK, think about who could step in quickly in Canada, and whether the children would move
• Leave money for the children’s care, often through a trust in the will, so it isn’t paid to them outright at the age of majority (18 or 19, depending on the province)

RRSPs, TFSAs and beneficiary designations

Outside Quebec, you can name a beneficiary directly on your RRSP, RRIF, TFSA and workplace pension. That money then passes outside your will and outside probate. A spouse can usually be named as successor holder of a TFSA. In Quebec, designations on most RRSPs and TFSAs must be made in your will, except for insurance-company products. Check the designations each time your family changes.

If you can’t make decisions yourself

A will only works after death. Separate documents let someone act for you if you lose capacity, and the names differ by province.

A UK lasting power of attorney is made under UK law. Ask a lawyer whether a Canadian bank or hospital would accept it, and make Canadian documents for life in Canada.

Probate fees and tax at death

• Ontario: Estate Administration Tax is C$15 for every C$1,000 (1.5%) of the estate above C$50,000, with nothing on the first C$50,000
• BC: probate fees are C$6 per C$1,000 between C$25,000 and C$50,000, then C$14 per C$1,000 (1.4%) above that
• Deemed disposition: Canada has no inheritance tax, but on death you are treated as selling your capital property at market value, and capital gains go on your final tax return. Property left to a spouse can usually pass without tax until they die
• RRSPs and RRIFs: the full value is normally taxed as income on the final return, unless it passes to a spouse or a dependent child

UK inheritance tax may still apply

Since 6 April 2025, UK inheritance tax on your worldwide assets depends on whether you’re a long-term UK resident: UK resident for at least 10 of the last 20 tax years. After you leave, you stay in scope for 3 to 10 tax years, depending on how long you lived in the UK. UK property is always in scope. The UK–Canada tax treaty covers income and capital gains, not inheritance tax, so an estate can face both Canadian tax at death and UK inheritance tax. See your UK tax, pension and property.