The short version: when someone dies without a will — called dying "intestate" — BC's Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) sets out exactly who inherits, in a specific legal order. The house still needs to go through a court process before it can be sold, just under a Grant of Administration instead of a Grant of Probate.
Who actually inherits, under BC's rules
The distribution depends on who survives:
- Spouse, no children: the surviving spouse (including a common-law partner of at least two years) inherits the entire estate, including the house.
- Spouse and children: the spouse receives a "preferential share" first — $300,000 if the children are also the spouse's own, or $150,000 if not — plus household furnishings and the right to purchase the family home. Whatever remains after that is split 50/50 between the spouse and the children.
- No spouse, no children: the estate passes to other relatives in a specific order — generally parents first, then siblings, then more distant relatives — as defined by WESA.
This can mean a house ends up jointly owned, on paper, by several people who've never had to co-own property together before — a spouse and adult children, or several siblings — which is exactly the kind of situation that benefits from a clear, neutral process for deciding what happens next.
The house still needs an administrator and a court grant
Dying without a will doesn't mean the house can simply be sold by whoever shows up first. A close relative needs to apply to the BC Supreme Court for a Grant of Administration, which — once issued — gives the same legal authority an executor would have to manage and sell the property. See our Grant of Probate vs. Grant of Administration guide for exactly how that process works and who's eligible to apply.
Mark Jontz has worked with families through exactly this situation — where there's no will, multiple people have inherited a share of the home, and nobody's quite sure what happens next. In practice, selling the house and dividing the proceeds according to the legal shares is often the cleanest, most practical path forward once an administrator is in place.
When multiple people inherit a share
If children or other relatives end up as co-inheritors of the property, their shared interest is generally held as tenants in common rather than joint tenancy — meaning each person's share can be individually accounted for and distributed, including through a sale. If the people involved don't agree on what to do with the property, see our guide on what to do when beneficiaries disagree.
This page provides general information about BC's intestacy rules under WESA and is not legal advice. Every family situation is different — please consult a lawyer to confirm how these rules apply to a specific estate.