- Alternate executor
- A backup estate trustee, named to step in if the first choice can't or won't act when the time comes. Read the answer ›
- Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee
- The court order, sometimes called probate, confirming a will (or the lack of one) and an estate trustee's authority to deal with the assets. Read the answer ›
- Codicil
- A signed, witnessed document that amends specific parts of an existing will without replacing the whole thing.
- Dependant support (Part V claim)
- A court application by a spouse, child or other dependant the deceased was actually supporting, asking for adequate provision a will or intestacy failed to give them. Read the answer ›
- Estate trustee (executor)
- The person named in a will, or appointed by a court, to prove the will, pay debts and taxes, and distribute what's left to beneficiaries. Read the answer ›
- Estate trustee without a will
- The court-appointed administrator of an estate when there's no valid will, chosen under a priority order set by the rules of court.
- Executor compensation
- The fee an estate trustee is entitled to for administering an estate, calculated against a customary tariff whether or not the will mentions it. Read the answer ›
- Guardian for children (decision-making responsibility)
- A person a will can appoint to raise your minor children if both parents die; the appointment expires 90 days later unless confirmed by a court. Read the answer ›
- Holograph will
- A will written entirely in the testator's own handwriting and signed by them, valid in Ontario without any witnesses at all. Read the answer ›
- Intestacy
- Dying without a valid will. The Succession Law Reform Act then decides who inherits, in an order that doesn't always match what someone would have chosen. Read the answer ›
- Joint tenancy
- A form of co-ownership where a deceased owner's share passes automatically to the surviving owner, outside the will and outside probate. Read the answer ›
- Per stirpes distribution
- Dividing a deceased beneficiary's share among their own children, rather than letting it pass only to the surviving beneficiaries at the same level.
- Power of attorney for personal care
- A document naming someone to make health, housing and personal decisions once you're found incapable of making them yourself. Read the answer ›
- Power of attorney for property
- A document naming someone to manage your finances, made under the Substitute Decisions Act, which can remain valid even after you become incapable. Read the answer ›
- Preferential share
- A fixed first amount, set by regulation, that a surviving spouse receives from an intestate estate before the rest is split with children.
- Residue (residuary clause)
- What's left of the estate after debts, taxes and specific gifts are paid; a residue clause decides who receives it.
- Spousal election
- A married spouse's choice to receive an equalization payment under the Family Law Act instead of what a will provides. Read the answer ›
- Statutory guardian of property
- The Public Guardian and Trustee's default authority over an incapable person's property when no attorney is available, until replaced or terminated.
- Testator
- The person making the will. Once it's signed and witnessed, it sets out how they want their property distributed after death.
- Undue influence
- Pressure on a testator so severe it overrides their own free will; a will made under it can be challenged and set aside. Read the answer ›
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