Is mediation mandatory before an estate trial in Toronto, Ottawa, or Windsor?

Yes. Under Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, mediation is mandatory in most contested estate, trust, and guardianship proceedings started in the Toronto, Ottawa, and Essex County court regions — which is why Windsor, the largest city in Essex County, is subject to the same requirement. In these regions, the parties generally must attend a mediation session within a set stage of the proceeding, before the matter can move ahead to trial, unless the court excuses them from it for a specific reason.

The idea is to give everyone a real opportunity to resolve the dispute with the help of a neutral mediator before the parties spend the time and money of a full trial, which is especially valuable in estate matters given how often family relationships, not just money, are at stake. Mediation doesn't force anyone to settle — if it doesn't resolve the dispute, the litigation simply continues toward trial. Outside Toronto, Ottawa, and Essex County, mediation isn't mandatory, but parties can still choose to mediate voluntarily, and courts generally encourage it. Anyone involved in estate litigation in one of the mandatory regions should plan for mediation as a real step in the process, not a formality to get past.