Who administers an estate in Ontario if there is no will?

When someone dies in Ontario without a will, no executor has been named, so someone must be appointed by the court to administer the estate. This person is called an "estate trustee without a will" (in older usage, an "administrator").

Any person with a financial interest in the estate can apply to the court for this appointment. Ontario's rules give priority to the next of kin in a particular order — typically a spouse first, then adult children, then parents, and so on down the family line. If multiple people with equal priority all want the role, they may either agree among themselves who will apply or the court can appoint one of them.

The appointed estate trustee without a will has essentially the same duties and powers as an executor under a will: securing assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing the estate according to the intestacy rules under the Succession Law Reform Act. Because there is no will to guide distribution, the law provides the formula. A bond (a financial guarantee) may be required from the administrator unless the court waives it.