Why You’re Never Too Young for a Will in Ontario

Why You’re Never Too Young for a Will in Ontario

There is a stubborn myth floating around that estate planning is exclusively for the retirement crowd: those with a mortgage, a few kids, and a graying head of hair. If you are in your twenties or early thirties, a will might seem like an unnecessary piece of paperwork. You might think, "I don’t own a house, and I don't have kids. Why bother?"

But here’s the reality: if you are an adult in Ontario, you need a will. Dying without one triggers a rigid, hands-off legal process that completely ignores modern relationships, digital assets, and personal choices.

Leaving your estate up to Ontario’s intestate laws can cause major complications for your loved ones.

When you pass away without a valid last will and testament, you die intestate. At this point, you lose the right to choose who gets your property and who manages your affairs. Instead, the government’s default rulebook steps in.

In Ontario, this regime is governed strictly by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26 (SLRA).

If you are young, single, and have no children, Section 47(3) of the SLRA dictates that your entire estate goes to your parents in equal shares. If your parents have passed, it goes to your siblings (Section 47(4)).

This rigid distribution ignores your personal relationships: ● That lifelong best friend? They get nothing. ● A favorite charity you support? Excluded. ● An estranged parent you haven't spoken to in a decade? They could inherit everything you own.

Now imagine a situation where there is no next of kin and you have no will. Who gets your estate? According to Section 47(7) of the SLRA, the Crown takes full control of your property! Not only have you lost any control over your estate by not having a will, it now falls entirely to the government without a say from you or anyone you may know.

The absolute biggest risk for young adults in Ontario involves unmarried partnerships. Many young couples live together for years and assume they are protected by "common-law" status. While Ontario law recognizes common-law relationships for taxes and spousal support, it does not recognize them for inheritance under an intestacy.

Under Section 1 of the SLRA, the definition of a "spouse" for property distribution on death applies only to legally married couples.

So here is the reality! If you have lived with your partner for ten years but are not legally married, and you die without a will, your partner is legally entitled to zero percent of your estate. Your assets will bypass them completely and go straight to your biological family.

To get anything at all, your surviving partner would be forced to sue your estate. They would have to file a Dependant’s Relief Claim under Part V of the SLRA, or launch an equitable claim for unjust enrichment.

We can see exactly how messy, expensive, and devastating this can get in real life situations. In Prelorentzos v. Havaris, the court had to untangle a bitter dispute where a partner passed away without a will. The surviving partner had to fight the deceased's biological family in court just to prove they met the legal definition of "cohabiting in a conjugal relationship" under Section 57 of the SLRA to get support. A simple will would have completely bypassed this public, expensive court battle during a time of deep grief.

A will isn't just about who gets your money; it’s about who has to clean up the logistical side of your life. The person who manages your estate is called an Estate Trustee (historically known as an executor).

If you have a will, you name your trustee. If you don't have a will, no one has the legal authority to touch your assets until they apply to the Ontario courts for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will under the Estates Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.21.

This creates two distinct problems for young adults: ● The Race to Court: If your family and your common-law partner disagree on how to handle your affairs, they can fight over who gets to be the administrator. ● The Bureaucratic Delay: Banks, crypto exchanges, and digital registries will immediately freeze your accounts upon your death. Without a probated will or a court-ordered Certificate, your loved ones cannot access your funds to pay for your funeral, rent, or outstanding debts.

Even if you don't own a home, young adults typically have a complex web of modern assets that intestacy laws are entirely unequipped to handle.

If your crypto is sitting in a cold storage wallet or an exchange, or if you have a monetized social media presence, your parents or siblings might not even know it exists, let alone how to access it.

A will allows you to appoint a tech-savvy digital executor and provide specialized clauses that grant them the legal authority to manage, transfer, or delete your digital footprint.

Furthermore, if you have a pet, the law views animals strictly as personal property (chattel). Without a will specifying who takes custody of your dog or cat—and potentially leaving a small allocation of funds for their care—your pet's future is left entirely up to chance and family agreement.

Writing a will isn't an admission of defeat or a sign of old age; it is an act of adulthood and an act of kindness toward the people you leave behind.

By taking an hour to draft a valid will in Ontario, you override the rigid, outdated defaults of the Succession Law Reform Act. You protect your partner, safeguard your digital legacy, and save your family from the exact kinds of courtroom battles.

Don't let the province decide what happens to your life's work. Get it in writing.

Disclaimer: This blog post contains general legal information regarding Ontario estate law and should not be taken as formal legal advice. For advice tailored to your specific situation, please schedule a consultation with our Lawyer at Aura LLP.