Contested Probate Applications in Ontario: When More Than One Person Applies

Most probate applications are uneventful — one person applies, the court reviews the paperwork, and a certificate is issued. Occasionally, though, more than one family member believes they should be the one appointed, and more than one application ends up before the same court for the same estate. This is more disruptive, more expensive, and slower than a straightforward application — but it's also a situation Ontario's estate law is built to resolve.

Why Competing Applications Happen

A contested application usually arises in one of a few situations:

• The will names an executor, but someone else believes that person is unsuitable — for example, due to a conflict of interest, incapacity, or a breakdown in trust — and applies to have someone else appointed instead.
• There is no will, and more than one family member with an equal or overlapping claim to priority applies to be appointed as estate trustee.
• A dispute over the will's validity itself is underway, and the question of who should be appointed (even on a temporary basis) becomes entangled with the larger challenge.

How Ontario Decides Who Applies First — The Order of Priority

Where there's no will, or where the named executor cannot or will not act, the Estates Act sets out a statutory order of priority for who is entitled to apply to be appointed estate trustee. This priority order exists precisely because disputes like this are foreseeable — it gives the court a starting framework rather than leaving the question entirely open-ended.

Even with a priority order in place, priority is not an absolute guarantee of appointment. The court retains the ability to look past the strict order where there's a good reason to — for example, real concerns about a proposed trustee's suitability, conflicts of interest, or capacity to properly administer the estate.

What the Court Actually Looks At

When more than one person applies, or when someone challenges a proposed appointment, the court's focus is on who can best administer the estate properly and in the interests of all beneficiaries — not on who "deserves" the role or who the deceased was closest to emotionally. Relevant considerations commonly include:

• Whether a candidate has a direct conflict of interest with the estate or its beneficiaries
• Whether a candidate has the practical capacity to handle the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities involved
• Any history of mismanagement of the deceased's affairs, or credible concerns about honesty
• The wishes expressed in a valid will, where one exists
• The positions and interests of the estate's beneficiaries

The Procedural Path for a Contested Application

Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure set out how contested estate matters — including competing applications and challenges to a proposed estate trustee — move through the Superior Court of Justice, generally under a different, more formal procedural track than an uncontested application follows. This typically involves:

1. Formal notice to interested parties, so that beneficiaries and other people with a stake in the estate are aware a contest is underway.
2. An opportunity to file evidence, since the court is deciding a genuine dispute rather than simply confirming paperwork.
3. A hearing, where the court considers the competing positions before deciding who should be appointed — sometimes as an interim trustee while the underlying issues are resolved, and sometimes as the final appointment.

Interim measures while a dispute plays out

Because an estate often needs someone with authority to act — paying bills, protecting assets, dealing with time-sensitive matters — while a contest over the permanent appointment is unresolved, the court can appoint an estate trustee on a temporary or limited basis in the meantime. This keeps the estate from being left in limbo purely because family members disagree about the long-term appointment.

Costs and Delay Are the Real Downside

A contested application takes meaningfully longer than an uncontested one, and it can be considerably more expensive — legal fees on both sides, court time, and the practical cost of an estate sitting unadministered while the dispute plays out. In some cases, the court can order that legal costs of the dispute be paid out of the estate itself, which reduces what ultimately reaches the beneficiaries regardless of who "wins" the application.

Ways to Avoid a Contested Application in the First Place

• A clearly drafted will that names an executor (and at least one alternate) removes most of the guesswork that fuels these disputes.
• Open communication with family about who has been named, and why, before it becomes a surprise during a difficult time.
• Choosing an executor thoughtfully — not automatically the eldest child or closest relative, but someone genuinely suited to the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities involved, and ideally someone the rest of the family will accept.

Frequently asked questions