Dying without a will No. 2 – when does $ go to the government?
- Explaining how unlikely it is for there to be nothing of intestate beneficiaries such that the estate goes to the government
- Explaining why you might be doing your executor a huge favour by having names and contact information for your intestate beneficiaries
Last week I explained who inherits an estate when there’s no will. I shared what happens as we move down the priority list from spouse to children, to grandchildren, and so on.
My planned follow-up was explaining why you might want a will even if your intestate (without a will) beneficiaries match your chosen beneficiaries.
But I was distracted by this question from a reader: “If a person dies with no will and no known relatives, does the money go to the Government?”
The short answer is “yes”. But I’m going to explain how narrow your family tree would have to be for that to occur.
And that will lead to advice about how helpful it might be to your executor for you to research your family tree as part of getting your affairs in order.
For an intestate estate to go to the government:
- You would have no spouse.
- And no living descendants, i.e. no living children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren.
- Your parents would be deceased.
- Your parents would have no living descendants, i.e. any of your siblings would have predeceased you, leaving no living children, grandchildren, etc.
- Next up the ladder are your two sets of grandparents. Any of your uncles and aunts would have had to predecease you along with any of their children, grandchildren, etc.
- And there’s one more level. For your intestate estate to go to the government, you would have to be the sole living descendant of your four sets of great-grandparents.
With recent fertility rates in British Columbia at approximately 1 child, the likelihood of an intestate estate going to the government is definitely increasing. But fertility rates in BC for our great-grandparents were much higher, resulting in many of us being branches of very broad family trees.
So broad, that I would have a lot of trouble piecing mine together if I were to start at the level of my great-grandparents. I don’t even know their names. And the only branch of their trees I could figure out is that of my own grandparents.
But there’s no need to do that work if you simply have a will, right?
Wrong.
Intestate successors (those who would inherit if there was no will) must be notified even if there is a will.
I think the reason for that requirement is to give those folks the opportunity to challenge the validity of the will. If there is no valid will, the estate will pass to them.
You will be doing your executor a huge favour if you put together your family tree, complete with full names, residential and email addresses and telephone numbers.
You don’t have to do this for a family tree that starts with your great-grandparents. Go only as far as your executor might have to go to give notice to those who would be your beneficiaries absent a will.
My column last week will help you identify how far you need to go. If you need help after reviewing that column, you’re welcome to e-mail me and I’ll help you out.
