What role does Ontario's Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee play when an estate has no known heirs?

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) typically becomes involved in administering an estate once it appears no known heir exists, stepping in to manage and eventually deal with the property while a search for possible heirs is completed, and administering what escheats to the Crown under the Escheats Act, 2015 if no eligible heir is ultimately found. The PGT's role here is distinct from its other, better-known functions, such as acting for incapable adults - this is specifically about estates that might otherwise have nobody legally positioned to manage them.

In practice, the PGT generally wants to see that a genuine effort has been made to locate any possible heir under the SLRA's intestacy rules before treating an estate as having none. This can include reviewing genealogical research, checking whether a more distant relative can be identified, and confirming no valid will exists naming someone else entirely.

If you believe you might be an heir to an estate the PGT is administering, or that a relative's estate has been overlooked, contacting the PGT directly, or having a lawyer do so on your behalf, is the right first step - trying to establish your claim informally with other family members won't resolve the legal question of entitlement.