What happens to a home, and to the people left behind

Plain-language guides to how money and property actually pass at death in Canada, written for families rather than for lawyers.

Most people assume a will decides everything. It does not. Property held jointly can pass straight to the surviving owner without the will touching it. Registered accounts follow whoever is named on the form. And the tax that comes due at death lands somewhere most families never think to look.

None of that is obscure. It is just rarely explained clearly, and usually only after it matters.

Start here

• Is there an inheritance tax in Canada? The short answer is no, and the real answer changes who owes what.
• Contesting a will in British Columbia BC lets adult children ask a court to vary a parent's will, and gives them 180 days to do it.

Coming next

• What to do in the first 30 days after a parent dies
• Probate in Canada: what it is, what it costs, and when you can skip it