How Do I Probate a Will in Ontario When the Deceased Owned Property in Another Country?

Property abroad is treated differently from Ontario property when the Estate Administration Tax is worked out, and how it is handled elsewhere depends on your situation. For Estate Administration Tax, real estate outside Ontario is not included in the value of the estate.

Other property worldwide is included, such as bank accounts (including foreign banks), investments, vehicles and business interests. Ontario real estate is valued less any mortgage or lien, but unsecured debts such as credit card balances and lines of credit cannot be deducted. Assets must be valued at fair market value at the date of death, and you should be able to support each value with documents such as statements or an appraiser's opinion.

For applications on or after January 1, 2020, no tax is payable if the estate is worth $50,000 or less. Above that, the tax is $15 for each $1,000 or part of $1,000 over $50,000, and the value is rounded up to the nearest thousand. An Estate Information Return must be filed within 180 calendar days after the certificate is issued, even if no tax is payable. What a foreign country requires depends on its law, so confirm it with a lawyer there.