My dad left his pension to me and my estranged brother — now that he’s dead, am I entitled to his share?

And that’s just one potential challenge. It’s not unusual for pension owners and beneficiaries to feel lost amid the maze of rules, regulations and frequent changes surrounding pension inheritance and beneficiary designations.

Take the hypothetical case of Dave, a middle-aged man whose widowed father died 10 years ago. He left 50% of his RRSP savings to Dave and 50% to his estranged brother, Cameron. Dave hasn’t spoken to Cameron in 15 years. When their father died, neither he nor the pension administrator could find him.

Recently, Dave was notified that his brother, who had been in a nursing home, had died. His death certificate lists him as married with no children, though Dave heard from a family friend that Cameron was also estranged from his wife, too.

Now Dave is wondering if he’s entitled to the other half of his dad’s pension.

Taking the first step

In cases like this, it’s typically best to consult a lawyer — especially if the deceased lived in another province or didn’t have a will.

Inheritance law is handled at the provincial level, and so there may be differences between provinces that are important to consider. And while there is no inheritance tax in Canada, the estate of the deceased does owe capital gains tax and other related taxes on their investments. So, it’s complicated — and navigating it alone can be tough.

Also, Dave doesn’t necessarily have a clear-cut right to Cameron’s half of the investments.

While Dave’s father was able to name his sons as co-beneficiaries of his estate in his will, an RRSP account can only have a single beneficiary successor in the event of the investment holder’s death.