Dying without a will in Nova Scotia hands the distribution to a statutory formula. For a Muslim family this is the single most common way an estate ends up divided contrary to faraid.
What Nova Scotia does
| Item | Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Probate Act and Intestate Succession Act |
| Court | Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Probate Court) |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Recognised only in narrow circumstances — do not assume a handwritten will is valid here. [confirm against the statute] |
| Probate cost | Among the highest in Canada. A $2 million estate attracts roughly $33,000 in probate fees — more than Ontario on the same estate. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | A preferential share applies, reported as low as $50,000 where the children are common to both spouses — among the lowest thresholds in the country. [confirm against the statute] |
| Will registry | No central government will registry. [confirm against the statute] |
| Claims against the estate | Testators’ Family Maintenance Act claims. [confirm against the statute] |
Why it does not match faraid
Provincial intestacy schemes are built around the surviving spouse and descendants. Faraid distributes more widely — parents take a share alongside children, and siblings can inherit in their own right. Three mismatches recur:
- Parents. Under faraid each parent generally takes one sixth where the deceased left children. Provincial intestacy usually gives parents nothing while a spouse and children survive.
- The spouse’s portion. Faraid fixes a wife at one eighth with children; a preferential share can hand a spouse the great majority of a modest estate.
- Sons and daughters. Provincial law divides equally among children; faraid gives a son twice a daughter’s share.
| Position | Hanafi | Maliki | Shafi’i | Hanbali |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share of a daughter | Half a son’s share | Half a son’s share | Half a son’s share | Half a son’s share |
| Wife, with children | One eighth | One eighth | One eighth | One eighth |
| Wife, no children | One quarter | One quarter | One quarter | One quarter |
| Husband, with children | One quarter | One quarter | One quarter | One quarter |
| Husband, no children | One half | One half | One half | One half |
| Bequest cap (wasiyyah) | One third | One third | One third | One third |
| Bequest to a fixed heir | Needs heirs’ consent | Needs heirs’ consent | Needs heirs’ consent | Needs heirs’ consent |
| Distant kin (dhawu al-arham) | Inherit | Classically to the treasury | Classically to the treasury | Inherit |
| Surplus returned (radd) | Yes | Classically no | Classically no | Yes |
None of this is fixed by intention. Only a valid will — that can be found — changes the outcome.
A worked example: a $600,000 estate
Take a man who dies leaving a wife, two sons, one daughter and his mother, with a net estate of $600,000 after debts and funeral expenses. Here is what Nova Scotia does if he left no will, and what faraid does.
Under Nova Scotia intestacy law
| Heir | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Preferential share $50,000 plus one third of the residue | $233,333 |
| Mother | Nothing — parents do not inherit while a spouse and children survive | $0 |
| Each child (three) | Equal shares of the remaining two thirds | $122,222 |
Under faraid
| Heir | Qur’anic share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Wife | One eighth | $75,000 |
| Mother | One sixth | $100,000 |
| Son (each of two) | Residue, two shares | $170,000 |
| Daughter | Residue, one share | $85,000 |
His mother receives nothing under the provincial formula and $100,000 under faraid. Provincial intestacy schemes are built around the spouse and descendants; they do not recognise a parent’s fixed share at all while a spouse and children survive. No amount of intention changes this — only a valid will does.
Figures are rounded to whole dollars and illustrate the structure only. Real estates involve debts, taxes, designations and jointly held property that change the arithmetic substantially.
Common questions
Do common-law partners inherit?
It depends on the province, and the differences are large. Some provinces treat a qualifying common-law partner as a spouse for intestacy; Ontario does not.
Do my parents inherit if I die without a will?
Generally not, if you leave a spouse or children. This is one of the sharpest departures from faraid, where each parent normally takes one sixth where the deceased left children.
Does an intestate estate get divided equally between sons and daughters?
Yes — provincial law divides equally among children. Faraid gives a son twice a daughter's share.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of the references below. Legislation and dollar thresholds change — verify against the primary source before relying on any figure.
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Probate fees by province / territory — TaxTips.ca
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Intestacy spouse one child ontario — Treadstone Law
- Title insurance cost ontario — Treadstone Law
- Joint investment accounts right of survivorship ontario — Treadstone Law
- Gst hst joint venture election real property ontario — Treadstone Law
- Lmia processing times validity what to expect — Treadstone Law
- Removing name from property title after separation ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada