Dying without a will in Yukon 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 Yukon does
| Item | Yukon |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Wills Act and Estate Administration Act |
| Court | Supreme Court of Yukon |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid |
| Probate cost | A low flat fee structure. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | $75,000, a figure unchanged since 1977. Where an intestate leaves a spouse and issue and the estate does not exceed $75,000, the whole estate goes to the spouse; above that, the spouse takes the first $75,000 and then shares the residue with the issue (reported as one-half with one child, one-third with more than one child — the same residue split used in Ontario and several other provinces). Where there is a spouse and no issue, the spouse takes the whole estate. The preferential share is payable only to a legally married spouse. |
| Will registry | No general public will registry currently operates — but this cell needs watching, because Yukon is the only jurisdiction checked so far where the enabling law for one already exists and is simply unused. The 2020 Wills Act amendment (in force 1 May 2021) both (a) implemented the international-wills Convention, with its own narrow registration system for that special will form, and (b) separately gave the government a standalone regulation-making power to 'enable the creation of a registry of wills.' No evidence was found that a regulation has actually been made to stand up such a registry — Yukon's own current 'Learn about wills and estates' consumer guidance does not mention one — so the practical answer today is still 'no', but a future regulation could change this without any further Act of the Legislature. |
| Claims against the estate | Dependants Relief Act claims. 'Dependant' means: the surviving spouse (defined to include a common-law spouse — 12 months' cohabitation, or a marriage not legally valid but entered in good faith); a child under 16; a child 16 or over who cannot earn a livelihood because of mental or physical disability; and a grandparent, parent, or descendant who was actually financially dependent on the deceased for the 3 years before death. Like Prince Edward Island (and unlike Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador), an independent, able-bodied adult child has NO claim under this Act. |
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 Yukon does if he left no will, and what faraid does.
Under Yukon 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 a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- 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
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada
- Half siblings intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Preferential share spouse intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Holograph handwritten will ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is preferential share ontario intestacy — Treadstone Law
- Does common law spouse inherit without will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law