Who pays the legal costs of a court application to remove an uncooperative executor in Ontario?

Costs in a removal application aren't automatic in either direction — the court has discretion, and the outcome usually depends on how the application played out and who was found to be responsible for the problem. Where the executor's own conduct genuinely justified removal, such as real mismanagement, unreasonable stonewalling, or a serious conflict of interest, the court can order that executor to personally bear the costs of the application rather than having the estate absorb them.

Where the application was reasonably brought to protect the estate's interests, even if the outcome is contested or only partially successful, courts sometimes order costs to be paid from the estate itself, on the reasoning that resolving a genuine governance problem benefits everyone with a stake in the estate, not just the beneficiary who brought it forward. On the other hand, an application brought without a solid basis can expose the beneficiary who filed it to a personal costs award.

Because so much depends on the specific facts and how the court views the reasonableness of both sides' conduct, no one should assume costs will land a particular way before the application is actually decided — getting a realistic assessment from a lawyer before filing helps manage that risk.