Dying without a will in Quebec 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 Quebec does
| Item | Quebec |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Civil Code of Québec |
| Court | Superior Court of Québec |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid. Quebec recognises three forms: notarial, holograph, and witnessed wills. |
| Probate cost | No probate fees. A notarial will requires no court verification at all; holograph and witnessed wills must be probated (verified) by the court or a notary. [confirm against the statute] |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction and its intestate rules differ structurally from the common-law provinces — the estate is divided between spouse and descendants by fractions rather than by a preferential dollar amount. [confirm against the statute] |
| Will registry | Two near-universal registers: the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Barreau du Québec. A single joint search portal queries both and returns a certificate from each. |
| Claims against the estate | Quebec has no wills-variation regime of the BC kind, but the obligation of support survives death as a claim against the estate. [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 Quebec does if he left no will, and what faraid does.
Under Quebec intestacy law
| Heir | Basis | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Takes the entire estate where all children are also the spouse’s; otherwise a preferential share applies first | Most or all |
| Mother | Nothing while a spouse and children survive | $0 |
| Each child | Equal shares of whatever remains — sons and daughters alike | Equal |
Exact figures depend on the provincial threshold and on whether all children are also the surviving spouse’s. Confirm against the statute.
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
- Searching for a will — Gouvernement du Québec
- Search the registers of wills and mandates — Chambre des notaires du Québec
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Matrimonial home both names title separation — Treadstone Law
- Can unmarried partners have matrimonial home ontario — Treadstone Law
- Title search what happens ontario buyer — Treadstone Law
- Jointly held assets probate ontario right of survivorship explained — Treadstone Law
- Unpaid seller retention of title priority — Treadstone Law
- Title insurance registered lawyer required ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada