What happened in this case
In Allmendinger v. The Estate of Heather Ruth Brown, 2026 ONSC 4710, the deceased's 2006 will left the entire estate to her adult daughter and made no provision for the common-law partner with whom she later lived for ten years. After her death in 2023, he remained in her condominium and brought a dependant-support claim.
The court held that the condominium belonged to the estate and ordered him to leave. It also found that he was a dependant. After transitional support, the estate was ordered to pay $3,300 per month for living expenses, transportation, and housing once he provided proof of new accommodation, continuing for his lifetime.
Why the estate may still have to pay
Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act permits a court to order adequate support from an estate when a deceased person did not make sufficient provision for a dependant. For this part of the Act, spouse can include people who cohabited continuously for at least three years, or in a relationship of some permanence if they are parents of a child.
This does not mean every common-law partner automatically receives a fixed amount or owns the home. The court considers dependency, living arrangements, estate value, beneficiaries, and statutory factors in the specific case.
Planning requires more than asking who is named in the will
Estate planning and administration should consider these questions together:
- Do the will, beneficiary designations, and ownership arrangements reflect the current family situation?
- Is anyone financially, residentially, or practically dependent on the deceased?
- Is there enough liquidity for tax, expenses, disputes, and potential support obligations?
- Does the executor know about risks that may affect the timing of distributions?