How do we actually apply for probate in Ontario?

What goes into the application

The application is made to the Superior Court of Justice, Estates List, in the county where the deceased lived. It includes the original will, or, if none, proof of the search for one, an inventory valuing the estate's assets as of the date of death, and the forms the Rules of Civil Procedure require, including the application itself and a certificate confirming who has been notified.

Two versions exist: one where a will names an executor, and one for an estate trustee without a will, used both when there is no will and when the named executor cannot or will not act.

Consents, renunciations and who else has to be told

Anyone with an equal or prior right to apply, and every beneficiary named in the will, generally must be given notice or asked to consent. An executor named in the will who does not want to act can sign a renunciation; doing nothing indefinitely is not the same as renouncing and can hold up the estate.

Where a minor or a person who lacks capacity has an interest, the Office of the Children's Lawyer or the Public Guardian and Trustee may need to be notified, which can add time.

Paying the estate administration tax

The Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998 requires payment of the estate administration tax, calculated on the value of the estate, before the certificate is issued; check the current rates on the Act's own page rather than relying on a fixed figure here. Within 180 calendar days after the certificate issues, the estate trustee must give the Ministry of Finance an Estate Information Return setting out how the value was calculated, and the Ministry can later ask questions or reassess.

How long it takes and what can slow it down

Processing time varies by court office and by how complete the application is; an incomplete inventory, a missing consent or an unclear will are the most common causes of a requisition sending the application back. Building extra time into any plan that depends on the certificate, closing a home sale, for instance, is worth doing.

Once the certificate is issued

Order several certified copies once the certificate issues; each institution holding an asset will want its own original or a certified copy, not a photocopy. The certificate is the estate trustee's authority to act, but it does not itself tell a bank how much is in an account or what a beneficiary is owed; the trustee still has to gather and account for everything.