Who has to be notified when a dependant support claim is filed against an Ontario estate?

Generally, everyone with a real stake in the estate — the estate trustee, and typically the other beneficiaries named in the will or entitled on an intestacy — should be notified that a dependant support claim has been filed. This reflects the general approach Ontario estate litigation takes under the Rules of Civil Procedure: because a support claim can reduce what's left for everyone else, the people whose shares could be affected are treated as having an interest in knowing about it and being able to respond.

The exact notice requirements depend on how the claim is brought and who the court considers to have a stake, so it's the kind of procedural detail a lawyer handling the claim would confirm against the specific court file rather than something a reader should assume follows one fixed list. An estate trustee who learns of a claim also needs to be careful — distributing to beneficiaries without regard for a pending or reasonably foreseeable claim can create personal risk for the trustee. Beneficiaries who receive notice should understand it may affect the amount and timing of what they eventually receive, and should get legal advice if they want to respond.