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 →Start a file online in about seven minutes, or ask a lawyer first. Flat, published fees.