What if the executor is also a creditor of the estate in Ontario?

If an executor is also owed money by the estate — for example, the deceased owed the executor a personal loan — this creates a direct conflict of interest between their role as administrator and their personal financial interest. An executor cannot use their administrative position to ensure their own claim is paid ahead of other creditors, and they cannot unilaterally decide to pay themselves.

The executor should disclose the debt to all beneficiaries and, where applicable, to other co-executors. They should ensure the claim is documented and provable — not simply asserted — and that it is paid in the same priority order as any other unsecured creditor's claim, proportionally, if the estate is insufficient to pay all creditors in full.

In many cases, an executor in this position should seek independent legal advice about how to proceed and consider whether a co-executor or trust company should handle the decisions relating to creditor claims. A court can review any creditor payment made by an executor to themselves, and can order repayment if it was improperly prioritized.