700 plain-language Q&As about wills & estates. Browse below, or search the whole library.
Ontario's limitation period rules for will challenges are not as straightforward as a simple two-year deadline. The Limitations Act, 2002 applies to…
Read the full answer →Yes. Where the validity of a will is disputed but someone still needs authority to handle specific, time-sensitive estate matters, an Ontario court can…
Read the full answer →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…
Read the full answer →A person involved in an Ontario will challenge who lacks the capacity to instruct a lawyer and make decisions about the litigation generally needs a…
Read the full answer →This is one of the most significant and sensitive decisions an attorney for personal care may face. In Ontario, an attorney for personal care generally…
Read the full answer →A lost will presents a serious problem in Ontario. The general presumption is that if an original will that was last known to be in the testator's…
Read the full answer →Probate in Ontario generally requires the original signed will. If the original cannot be found, there is a legal presumption — rebuttable by evidence…
Read the full answer →Not unless the will says so. The general default in Ontario is that co-executors must act unanimously — every one of them needs to agree before a major…
Read the full answer →Yes. Under Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure, mediation is mandatory in most contested estate, trust, and guardianship proceedings started in the…
Read the full answer →Yes. A marriage contract — sometimes called a prenuptial agreement — can be a valuable tool in a blended family to clarify what each spouse keeps as…
Read the full answer →No — not anymore. Until January 1, 2022, marriage in Ontario automatically revoked any will made before the wedding, unless the will was made…
Read the full answer →Mediation is generally available for a passing of accounts dispute, and it's often a genuinely useful option, since these disputes are frequently as…
Read the full answer →Not universally, but mediation is commonly used in Ontario civil and estate litigation, including dependant support claims, and in some regions a form…
Read the full answer →The parties themselves choose the mediator in a mandatory estate mediation, and are expected to try to agree on someone together rather than have one…
Read the full answer →No, they're different assessments serving different purposes, even though both can come up around the same time for someone experiencing a mental…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, the general rule is that you must be at least 18 years old to make a valid will. This age threshold is set out in the Succession Law Reform…
Read the full answer →No. A power of attorney for personal care in Ontario only authorizes someone to make decisions about your own personal care — it does not extend to…
Read the full answer →Yes — a minority shareholder isn't automatically shut out of the oppression remedy just because the person now controlling the company is an estate…
Read the full answer →Yes - holding back a missing beneficiary's specific share while distributing the rest of the estate to everyone else is a common and practical…
Read the full answer →Missing beneficiary indemnity insurance is a policy that protects an estate trustee, and effectively the other beneficiaries, if a person who could not…
Read the full answer →Ontario courts have discussed the idea that a parent may owe a kind of moral obligation to an adult child, but this isn't a free-standing right that…
Read the full answer →Often, yes, though this is a federal tax question rather than an Ontario one. The Income Tax Act generally treats a person's property as sold at its…
Read the full answer →It can, though the conflict usually shows up at the provincial level rather than the federal one. The deceased's final income tax return, including the…
Read the full answer →Yes, most financial institutions allow you to name multiple beneficiaries on an RRSP and specify the percentage each person is to receive. For example,…
Read the full answer →Nothing prevents more than one interested person from filing a separate Notice of Objection against the same will, and it isn't unusual in a family…
Read the full answer →As a general default, yes — where a will names more than one executor and doesn't say otherwise, they're generally expected to act unanimously on…
Read the full answer →Mutual wills are wills made by two people — usually spouses — under a legally binding agreement that neither will change their will after the first…
Read the full answer →Both are valid approaches, and the better fit depends on your goals. Naming a charity directly as beneficiary on a RRIF means the proceeds pass…
Read the full answer →Naming your estate as the beneficiary of an RRSP, RRIF, or TFSA is generally less advantageous than naming a specific individual. When the estate is…
Read the full answer →If you name a minor child (under 18 in Ontario) directly as a beneficiary of an RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, or life insurance policy, the money cannot simply be…
Read the full answer →For most income tax and estate planning purposes in Ontario, a common-law partner is treated the same as a legally married spouse under the federal…
Read the full answer →If a later will surfaces while an existing will dispute is already before the Ontario courts, it generally becomes a central new issue in the same…
Read the full answer →It's worth considering, but a non-competition clause needs to be drafted carefully to actually hold up. Ontario employment law now restricts the use of…
Read the full answer →Parents usually compensate non-farming children with something other than a piece of the farm itself, since dividing land, quota, or equipment among…
Read the full answer →It can, though not automatically in every case. A CRA clearance certificate confirms the deceased's and the estate's tax obligations are paid before an…
Read the full answer →Often, yes. Ontario courts can require an estate trustee who lives outside the province — and especially outside Canada — to post a bond, a form of…
Read the full answer →An estate trustee's core tax responsibilities, such as filing the deceased's terminal return, handling the estate's own tax filings, and getting a CRA…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally. A person facing a capacity assessment under the Substitute Decisions Act is entitled to be told, in advance, that an assessment is…
Read the full answer →A Notice of Objection is the document you file with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to formally oppose a will being used to grant probate — known…
Read the full answer →A beneficiary who disagrees with an estate trustee's accounts doesn't just write a letter of complaint — they file a formal notice of objection with…
Read the full answer →The Office of the Children's Lawyer can become involved in an Ontario will challenge where the outcome affects a minor's financial interests, since a…
Read the full answer →A direct inheritance paid outright to your adult child can put them over ODSP's asset limits, since ODSP is a means-tested program and money paid to…
Read the full answer →It can, and this is an area where you shouldn't assume a distribution is treated the same regardless of its type or purpose. ODSP's rules can treat…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes. If a life insurance policy pays out directly to an ODSP recipient as a lump sum, that money is typically treated as their personal…
Read the full answer →Yes, ODSP does apply asset limits to what a recipient can hold directly in their own name before it affects eligibility. ODSP is a means-tested…
Read the full answer →A beneficiary facing one cooperative and one stonewalling co-executor has more than one option, and doesn't need to treat both trustees the same way.…
Read the full answer →An online gaming account or an NFT collection is generally treated as property of the deceased and, in principle, forms part of the estate the same as…
Read the full answer →Several planning tools can legitimately reduce the value subject to Ontario's estate administration tax, though none should be adopted without…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, a will must meet specific formal requirements set out in the Succession Law Reform Act to be legally valid. A standard typed or printed…
Read the full answer →Generally, no - under Ontario's organ and tissue donation framework, a valid documented consent, most importantly registration through Ontario's organ…
Read the full answer →The registered donor consent is generally treated as the operative legal decision, not the will - and practically speaking, this makes sense given the…
Read the full answer →Administering an Ontario estate from outside the province is doable, but the day-to-day logistics add friction that a local executor wouldn't face.…
Read the full answer →Yes, it's possible to settle with some dependants while the claim continues against the estate for others. Dependant support claims often involve more…
Read the full answer →Passing accounts is a formal court process in Ontario by which an executor (estate trustee) presents a complete financial accounting of the estate to a…
Read the full answer →Yes, this is common where the accounts aren't actually disputed. Where every interested party has been given proper notice, no one has filed a formal…
Read the full answer →Not automatically in every case, but a minor beneficiary changes the practical picture significantly. The usual shortcut — beneficiaries reviewing an…
Read the full answer →There's no reliable "typical" timeline to point to here — how long a contested passing of accounts takes depends heavily on factors like how many…
Read the full answer →Many Ontario workplace pension plans allow you to name a beneficiary, but the rules are more restricted than for RRSPs or TFSAs. Ontario's Pension…
Read the full answer →For many registered workplace pension plans, a spouse's survivor benefit is largely built into the plan by law and isn't something you can simply…
Read the full answer →Unlike the rules for attorneys for property, there is no default statutory compensation framework for attorneys for personal care in Ontario — the…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, when a health care practitioner disagrees with a decision made by your attorney for personal care, there is a formal process for resolving…
Read the full answer →Organ donation in Ontario is governed by the Trillium Gift of Life Network Act, which has its own consent framework that operates alongside — but…
Read the full answer →A power of attorney for personal care in Ontario covers a broad range of personal matters beyond major health care decisions. Your attorney for…
Read the full answer →Health care decisions — including decisions about mental health treatment such as medication, hospitalization, and therapy — fall within the scope of a…
Read the full answer →Yes, you can appoint more than one attorney for personal care in Ontario and specify how they must work together. However, in the personal care…
Read the full answer →If your attorney for personal care is unable or unwilling to act — whether due to their own illness, death, a conflict of interest, or simply because…
Read the full answer →A power of attorney for personal care in Ontario only takes effect when you are incapable of making a particular personal care or health care decision…
Read the full answer →Medical research consent in Ontario is a specialized area with additional ethical and legal requirements that go beyond ordinary health care consent.…
Read the full answer →Yes. In Ontario, a power of attorney for personal care is broad enough to cover daily living and personal care decisions such as hygiene, grooming,…
Read the full answer →These two documents are closely related but serve slightly different functions, and in Ontario the terms are sometimes used interchangeably or…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, a power of attorney for personal care must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, both of whom must also sign the document. Choosing…
Read the full answer →No, there's no set dollar threshold under Ontario law below which an estate trustee is excused from keeping receipts. The general expectation is that a…
Read the full answer →The Public Guardian and Trustee acts as Ontario's guardian of last resort primarily in the property context, where a capacity assessment finds someone…
Read the full answer →Once a report of suspected abuse involving an incapable or potentially incapable person is made, the Public Guardian and Trustee has authority to look…
Read the full answer →The Public Guardian and Trustee can become involved in an Ontario will validity dispute where a beneficiary or potential heir is a legally incapable…
Read the full answer →The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) typically becomes involved in administering an estate once it appears no known heir exists,…
Read the full answer →Having a disability does not automatically mean you lack the capacity to make your own personal care decisions, and it does not mean you need a power…
Read the full answer →This question involves a crossover between personal care and financial/property matters, and the answer depends on how the situation is framed. An…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, you have the right to appoint whomever you choose as your attorney for personal care, subject only to the legal eligibility requirements…
Read the full answer →Yes. An attorney for personal care in Ontario has authority over housing decisions, including where you receive residential care. If you have expressed…
Read the full answer →To create a valid power of attorney for personal care in Ontario, you must have the mental capacity to make the document at the time you sign it. If a…
Read the full answer →Yes. Your power of attorney for personal care in Ontario can and should reflect your religious beliefs, particularly if those beliefs may affect health…
Read the full answer →A guardian of the person is appointed by a court in Ontario to make personal care decisions on behalf of someone who is mentally incapable and does not…
Read the full answer →Yes, in most cases your attorney for property in Ontario has the authority to sell your home or other real estate on your behalf, unless your power of…
Read the full answer →Yes. Filing income tax returns is a financial matter, and an attorney for property in Ontario generally has the authority to file your income tax…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, an attorney for property holds a position of significant legal responsibility. The law treats them as a fiduciary — someone who must act…
Read the full answer →A power of attorney for property and a will serve different purposes and operate at different times in your life — but you need both for complete…
Read the full answer →A will and a power of attorney (POA) are both essential estate planning documents, but they operate at very different times and for very different…
Read the full answer →No. A power of attorney — whether for property or personal care — automatically ends when the person who granted it (the grantor) dies. At the moment…
Read the full answer →An estate trustee dealing with a pre-paid funeral contract generally needs to locate the actual contract, confirm which funeral home and services it…
Read the full answer →Yes, they're legally distinct remedies. An annulment addresses whether a marriage was ever validly formed in the first place — for example, because one…
Read the full answer →Since January 1, 2022, marriage no longer automatically revokes an existing will in Ontario, which is an important change from the old rule and means a…
Read the full answer →The preferential share and equalization are two different roads to the same fork, and a surviving spouse generally has to pick one rather than take…
Read the full answer →Yes, in appropriate circumstances - Ontario courts can, on application, make an order declaring a long-missing person legally dead after a period of…
Read the full answer →Yes. The principal residence exemption (PRE) can shield the family home from capital gains tax on the deemed disposition that occurs at death. If the…
Read the full answer →Estate litigation follows a different costs tradition than most other civil disputes. In ordinary lawsuits, the losing side typically pays a portion of…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, property held in joint tenancy — not tenancy in common — passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant by right of survivorship when…
Read the full answer →Ontario's court process for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will includes a notice requirement. Before filing the probate…
Read the full answer →When someone dies in Ontario without a will and with a solely owned bank account, the account forms part of their estate and must be distributed…
Read the full answer →A will made in another Canadian province can generally be recognized in Ontario, but whether Ontario probate is required depends on what assets the…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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