Can an Ontario court issue a limited grant of probate while a will challenge is still ongoing?

Yes. Where a will challenge is underway and full administration needs to wait for the litigation to be resolved, an Ontario court can issue a limited grant, giving someone authority to deal with specific, urgent aspects of the estate — such as preserving assets, paying pressing expenses, or managing a business — without resolving, or prejudicing, the underlying dispute about which will (or whether any will) is valid.

This kind of limited authority is narrower than a full Certificate of Appointment: it's tailored to what's genuinely necessary in the meantime, and it doesn't allow the person holding it to make final distributions to beneficiaries or otherwise treat the matter as settled while the real dispute is still being litigated. Courts grant this kind of relief where waiting for the full litigation to conclude would cause real harm to the estate's value or ongoing obligations, and typically require the person seeking it to show that specific, practical need rather than simply general convenience. Because a limited grant needs to be carefully scoped to avoid overstepping into the contested issues, anyone in the middle of a will challenge who needs interim authority over estate assets should get legal advice on whether this kind of application is appropriate for their situation.