Mar 31, 2026
When someone you know passes away, there is more to manage than just the impact of their loss. There is a legal process that determines how their finances are handled, debts are paid, and inheritances are distributed. It can feel overwhelming if you’re not familiar with the terminology or steps involved. This guide breaks down the fundamentals of estates in Ontario in way that is easy to understand.
What is an Estate?
An estate is everything a person owned (assets) and owed (liabilities) at the time of their death.
Example: Bob passes away. At the time of his death, he owned a house, a chequing account with $2,000, and a savings account with $40,000. He also owed $6,000 to CRA. All these together form Bob’s “Estate.”
What is an Executor?
An executor (aka an estate trustee) is an individual who manages someone’s estate after they die. There can be more than one estate trustee, and sometimes a trust company can act as the estate trustee instead of an individual. An executor is usually specified in a will or otherwise appointed by court order.
Example: Bob passed away leaving a valid will that that names George as the executor of his Estate. George will be responsible for accessing and closing Bob’s bank accounts, paying the debt to CRA and other liabilities, selling the house, and paying the remaining money to the beneficiaries named in the will, among other responsibilities.
What exactly is “Probate”?
Probate is the term for the process of obtaining a “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee” also commonly referred to as a “probate certificate”.
Example: For Sally and Donna to receive their inheritance following Bob’s death, a process called “probate” must occur. This process usually begins when Sally and Donna give the original will to George. George must then apply for a “probate certificate” by submitting an application to the court along with the original will. This application is called an “Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee,” or a “probate application.”
Once the court reviews George’s application and is satisfied that the will is valid, and that no other wills of Bob’s have been filed with the court, it will issue George a “probate certificate.” With this certificate, George can now begin to manage Bob’s estate. This entire process is known as “probate.”
*It is important to note that there are circumstances where probate is not required. For the purposes of this blog, I will be using an example where probate is required.
Probate Certificate aka “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee”
A “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee,” also known as a “probate certificate,” is a document issued by the court that authorizes a person (the executor) to manage an estate.
Example: George needs to close Bob’s bank accounts. He goes to TD Bank and explains that he is the executor of Bob’s estate and wants to access and close his accounts. Since George isn’t listed as an account holder, the bank has no record of him and asks for proof that he’s authorized to act on Bob’s behalf. George must provide a copy of his probate certificate issued by the court to prove he has authority to close the accounts.
Beneficiaries
A beneficiary is a person(s), charity, or organization who receives a gift (aka an inheritance) from someone’s estate after they die.
Example: Bob’s will names his two children, Sally and Donna, as beneficiaries. According to Bob’s will, each of them will receive $100,000.00 from his estate. George is responsible for making this happen. George will pay Sally and Donna each their $100,000.00 using money from Bob’s estate.
This is just one example of how an individual’s estate may be administered after their death. There are many other situations to consider. For example, if a person dies without leaving a will (dying “intestate”), the process for applying for probate will be different. Or, if a will exists but its validity is challenged by a beneficiary or an interested party, the estate may have to go through legal proceedings (“litigation”). Regardless of the specific circumstances, it is important to understand the basic principles of estates in case you ever find yourself responsible for managing a loved one’s estate.
Stacie Chrysanthopoulos
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
Oct 31, 2025
This is my first blog as a proud new lawyer at this fantastic firm, and I’ve decided to write about the role of financial institutions – banks in particular – in the early stages of estate litigation. The reason for this topic is in that this past year, banks have managed to play a big role in some of my and my colleagues’ files despite having no stake in the litigation.
I’ve created two scenarios, based upon these experiences, which will illustrate how banks can shape the early stages of estate litigation. My hope is that these scenarios can aid in understanding what banks may or may not do – which in turn, may help frame client expectations and inform early strategic decisions.
Scenario #1
Your client is the estate trustee and residue beneficiary of an estate. They have been acting for well over a year and have disposed of all the estate property and have distributed multiple cash legacies. All that remains is the residue. The accountant is waiting for a clearance certificate and anticipates no issues in that regard.
Your client decides to withdraw the residue now that everything appears OK.
When your client arrives at the bank, they are informed that the estate account has been frozen. The bank received a letter which indicated that ‘probate was being challenged’. The bank refuses to disclose any further information.
Your client calls you, obviously very concerned and stressed. They were really relying on this money. So, you contact the bank and they inform you of a few things:
- The letter did NOT enclose a court order, judgment, or writ authorizing the freeze.
- The letter was from a lawyer, who appeared to be representing a friend of the deceased.
- The friend was seeking to challenge the Will; however, they had not commenced proceedings of any kind.
- They refused to disclose the contact information of the lawyer until they obtained the other lawyer’s consent.
The authority that the bank was relying upon to freeze the account was the terms and conditions of their personal chequing accounts. As the estate account had formerly been a personal account, the estate account was bound to those terms. The terms allow the bank to unilaterally freeze accounts, without notice to account holders, if it is ‘unclear’ who the funds in the account belong to. The ‘freezing clause’ is a standard form term in all personal account agreements across the ‘Big 5’ Canadian banks.
You write a letter, demonstrating that your client is the only person with authority to act and arguing that the residue is held in trust for them, but the bank does not care. They advise that they ‘take no position’, and that they will be requiring either a court order or the consent of all parties, to unfreeze the account.
This is a paradoxical non-position: inert yet immensely prejudicial. Schrodinger would be proud.
To be fair to the bank and their policy, there is an obvious concern for liability. Yet the same terms that authorize the freeze also contain a waiver and indemnity, and where a bank obeys the authority of probate, who could realistically fault the bank for doing so?
Overall, this was a fantastic early victory for the Will challenger. Without going to Court, they’ve managed to obtain essentially a Mareva injunction. Where there is a risk of dissipation, parties should consider writing, at first instance, to all banks where the testator may have had accounts. The banks’ internal policies, terms, and conditions regarding personal accounts and estate accounts may result in a timely and effective freeze.
Scenario #2
Your client is a director and minority shareholder of a family business. The family business has been struggling with no business or activity in many months, but it remains the beneficiary of a sizeable life insurance policy insuring the life of your client’s father. Your client’s father was also a director and a majority shareholder of the family business. The father’s Will appoints your client’s brother as Estate Trustee. Your client and his brother are residue beneficiaries.
Your client’s father passes away, and the policy becomes payable. It is not technically an estate asset, although it benefits the family business to which both your client and his brother are entitled.
Unbeknownst to your client, the brother, who has yet to obtain probate, writes to the bank asking for the business accounts to be frozen based upon his authority as the named Estate Trustee and expressing concern that your client may steal company funds. The brother is highly suspicious and does not trust your client in the slightest. The brother believes that your client will abscond with the life insurance funds through his position as director/shareholder. The brother eventually intends to pursue legal action on behalf of the estate against your client and claims there is troubling evidence that your client has committed wrongdoing.
You help your client investigate and you later find out that the bank denied his brother’s demand. Their position was that as his brother was not an authorized signatory to the corporate accounts, the bank would not freeze the account without a Court order. It turns out that the terms and conditions of corporate accounts are much less draconian than personal accounts, and further, they impose a burden upon the corporate accountholder to ensure account security. When considering requests to freeze corporate accounts, it seems the banks rely solely upon who is an authorized signatory (and a handy waiver/indemnity).
Perhaps if the brother had probate, the bank would have listened. However, the challenger in Scenario #1 certainly did not have probate – and yet the bank still felt compelled to freeze the account.
I’m sure I will encounter more scenarios such as these in the future, where banks will influence the nature of litigation early on with profound consequences. Knowing that banks will take these types of ‘non-positions’ can help frame client expectations and encourage early action where it benefits client interests.
Matias Gutierrez
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
Jul 18, 2025
After months of waiting, you’ve finally received your Certificate of Appointment from the Court, and you can now manage the estate, pay debts, bring in the assets, file taxes, and distribute funds.
But what do you do if you don’t know the full value of the estate and the Estate Information Return (EIR) deadline is 180 days away and fast approaching?
As an estate trustee, you have the responsibility to determine the assets of the estate and confirm the values as of the Date of Death, and it can often be a long and difficult process to obtain the information you need from a financial institution.
If you are not aware of the assets, you can consider using a service like Estatesearch or hire a lawyer to do a deep dive and uncover any accounts.
Here are a few tips and steps you should take to obtain the information you need:
1. Hire a Lawyer: In many ways it is valuable to have a lawyer assisting and advising you on the estate administration process and to reach out to the different financial institutions on your behalf. There is a cost associated with this work, so take this into consideration.
2. Prepare notarized copies of the following documents (notaries, lawyers, and paralegals can provide this service):
- Will (if obtaining prior to issuance of your Certificate of Appointment)
- Death Certificate
- Issued Certificate of Appointment
3. Provide a copy of a valid government-issued photo ID to the bank.
4. Walk into the bank branch and provide them with the notarized documents and inquire about how you can obtain statements showing balances as of the date of death. Some estate departments of banks require the branch staff to verify the physical copies of the documents and your ID in person before speaking to the Estate Trustee on the phone or via email.
5. If applicable: Call the bank and inquire about how to submit the documents needed to gain access to the statements. Some will accept clear, scanned emailed, mailed or faxed-in copies and others require you to attend in person.
6. If applicable: Mail or fax the above documents to the relevant estate department along with your request for the balance of the account and statements as of the date of death.
7. Follow-up and keep good records. On that first conversation with the bank, ask for a reference number, and phone number or email address so that you can follow up on the status of your request. Once you receive the requested information, save it and make note of the documents and values received for when you need to report to the court and on your Estate Information Return.
Olesya Johnson
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
Jan 6, 2025
What is Estate Administration Tax?
An important thing to consider when applying for a probate certificate (or a “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee”) is the tax owing on the Estate. This tax is referred to as Estate Administration Tax (“EAT”), and it is based on the total value of all assets held by the deceased as of date of death. Payment of the EAT must be submitted along with your probate application at the time of filing.
There are certain circumstances where Estate Administration Tax is not required. For the purposes of this blog, we will go over how to determine the amount of tax payable when you are applying for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee (with or without a will).
Calculating Estate Administration Tax
When determining the value of the estate, you should add the values of all assets held by the deceased as of date of death. Liabilities owed by the estate are not subtracted from the value of estate assets, except for any registered mortgages towards a property owned by the deceased. Any accounts held by the deceased that name a designated beneficiary or were jointly held and pass by the right of survivorship should not be included in the value of estate assets.
Estate Administration Tax does not apply for the first $50,000 of the estate. The remaining value of the estate is rounded up to the nearest thousandth and then calculated by applying $15 per $1,000.
For example, if the total value of the estate is $372,782.12:
Step 1: Round to the nearest thousandth
$372,782.12 => $373,000
Step 2: Subtract the first $50,000 of the estate value
$373,000 – $50,000 = $323,000
Step 3: Divide by $1000
$323,000/$1000 = 323
Step 4: Multiply by $15
323 x $15 = $4,845
Once you have determined the amount of EAT owing, you should arrange payment by certified cheque or bank draft made payable to the “Minister of Finance”.
It is good practice to always double check your calculations when determining EAT. You may also use an online calculator to assist you with your calculations such as this one: https://www.ontario.ca/page/calculating-estate-administration-tax
Stacie Chrysanthopoulos
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
Apr 26, 2024
In my previous blog about probate, we discussed what “probate” or a “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee” is, and the different residency and security requirements for probate in Ontario, depending on whether the deceased person had a Will. Sometimes, clients will come to us having already obtained probate or been appointed as estate trustee in a jurisdiction outside of Ontario, then discovering that the deceased owned a bank or investment account in Ontario and needing Ontario probate to get that asset liquidated. In today’s global landscape, we are encountering these situations with increasing frequency.
Where the deceased did not have an Ontario Will, the Estates Act provides that estate trustees can apply for a “Resealing of Appointment of Estate Trustee” or an “Ancillary Appointment of Estate Trustee” in Ontario. Resealings and ancillary appointments have the same effect of recognizing the foreign grant of probate in Ontario as if it were originally granted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In other words, a resealing or ancillary appointment will provide the estate trustee with authority to act on behalf of the estate in Ontario and administer the Ontario assets. The difference between the two is where the original grant of probate was obtained.
Where the applicant was appointed as estate trustee by a court (a) outside of Ontario but within Canada, or (b) outside of Canada but in a Commonwealth country, they should seek a Resealing of Appointment of Estate Trustee. The applicant does not have to be an Ontario resident, and their foreign estate trustee appointment could have been made with or without a Will. A bond is required unless the original grant of probate was made with a Will and the applicant is a resident of Canada or elsewhere in the Commonwealth. The amount of the bond may be dispensed with or its amount reduced by the court in special circumstances.
If the applicant was appointed as estate trustee by a court that is not part of the Commonwealth, they should seek an Ancillary Appointment of Estate Trustee. The applicant does not have to be a resident of Ontario. A bond is required unless the applicant is a resident of Canada or the elsewhere in the Commonwealth. The amount of the bond may be dispensed with or its amount reduced by the court in special circumstances.
If you find yourself unsure about what kind of probate to apply for or which forms to submit, feel free to reach out to our team and schedule a consultation with us.
Zara Wong
Nothing contained in this post constitutes legal advice or establishes a solicitor-client relationship. If you have any questions regarding your legal rights or legal obligations, you should consult a lawyer.
