What can I do if someone died and I do not agree with what I'm getting from the estate?

A loved one may have died without leaving you anything or as much as you think they should have. Or maybe they died without a will, and you do not have the right to get anything under the .

In these situations, you might be able to: make a claim against their , or challenge the will.

Make a claim

There are 2 main kinds of claims people can make against the estate of someone who died.

1. Dependant’s support claim

A 's support claim means asking the court for support from the estate because:

you were dependent on the person who died, and
they did not leave enough for your support.

A dependant is a person who:

was supported financially by the person who died, or
the law says must be supported by the person who died

A dependant can only be the person's:

or partner
married partner they're from
divorced partner
child, stepchild, grandchild, or someone they treated as their child
parent or grandparent
brother, sister, or any sibling

2. Equalization claim

If you were legally married to the person when they died, you can decide if you want to take what you get from:

your partner's will or the intestacy rules if they did not have a will, or
an in family law.

An equalization payment is money one married partner can sometimes get from the other partner after they separate, or one partner dies.

With an equalization payment, both partners share the amount by which their property increased in value while they were married. Common-law partners cannot make an equalization claim.

Challenge the will

You might be able to challenge the will if you think it's not valid. A will may not be valid if when making it, for example, the person:

was not
was under too much pressure to sign the will, for example, from a family member
did not follow the rules for making a will

But sometimes, a court might still say the will is valid, if it reflects the true wishes of the person who died.

If a court decides the will is not valid, then the estate is not divided according to the will. It's divided using the intestacy rules.

Get legal help

It's important to get legal advice if you're thinking of making a claim. Read more in Step 4.