What makes a will valid, what probate costs in each province, who inherits without a will, powers of attorney and how family property is divided.
Estate and family law in Canada is mostly provincial. Each province has its own statute for wills and intestacy, its own probate fee or tax, its own power of attorney forms and its own family property regime. Federal law adds the Income Tax Act rules that apply at death and the Divorce Act for married couples who divorce. Quebec follows the Civil Code of Québec, which uses different concepts: notarial wills, liquidators instead of executors, protection mandates instead of powers of attorney, and the family patrimony.
Start with the overview of estate and family law costs and documents. Then read the guides on making a valid will in each province, Ontario's 2022 will changes for marriage and separation, probate fees by province in 2026, intestacy shares for spouses and children, powers of attorney and the Quebec protection mandate and family property division on separation. Amounts in examples are illustrative unless the text names the statute they come from.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
How Ontario equalization, BC family property, Alberta's Family Property Act and Quebec's family patrimony and parental union divide property.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
Who inherits without a will in Ontario ($350,000 preferential share), BC ($300,000), Alberta and Quebec, with worked examples by province.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
Formal requirements for a valid will in Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec: witnesses, holograph and notarial wills, remote signing and court validation.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
How Ontario's 1 January 2022 amendments changed wills after marriage and separation, intestacy for separated spouses and court validation.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
How Ontario powers of attorney, BC and Alberta enduring POAs and Quebec protection mandates work, how to sign them and what happens without one.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
Probate costs in Canada in 2026: Ontario estate administration tax, BC probate fees, Alberta's flat court fees, Quebec notarial wills and other provinces.
Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks
What wills, probate, powers of attorney and separation cost in Canada in 2026, which documents you need and how Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec differ.
