Decode the words your lawyer, your bank, and the courthouse use — so nothing in your own estate plan is a mystery.
Who this is for & what you'll get: Anyone in Ontario making a will, acting as an executor, or trying to follow estate paperwork. You'll get about 40 of the most common terms — grouped by Documents, People, The Process, and Key Concepts — each explained in a sentence or two.
⚖️ This is a general guide, not legal advice. It can't account for your specific situation. Use it to get oriented, then confirm the details with a licensed Ontario lawyer.
Estate law is full of old words, Latin, and terms that mean something different from everyday speech. This glossary cuts them down to plain English. Note one Ontario quirk up front: the person who carries out a will used to be called an executor, and most people still say it, but Ontario's official term is now estate trustee — you'll see both throughout your paperwork.
Documents
Will — The central document that says who gets your property when you die, who's in charge of carrying that out, and (if you have young children) who you'd want to raise them. In Ontario it generally must be signed and properly witnessed to be valid.
Codicil — A short add-on document that amends an existing will rather than replacing it — used for small changes. It must be signed and witnessed with the same care as a will. (For anything substantial, a fresh will is usually cleaner.)
Power of Attorney for Property — A document naming someone to manage your finances and property — paying bills, banking, dealing with investments — if you can't. It works while you're alive; it has nothing to do with what happens after death.
Power of Attorney for Personal Care — A document naming someone to make your health and personal-care decisions (medical treatment, housing, daily care) if you become unable to decide for yourself.
Living will — A common nickname (not a formal legal document in Ontario) for written wishes about end-of-life and medical care. In practice these wishes are usually expressed through a Power of Attorney for Personal Care and conversations with the person you name.
Beneficiary designation — A form attached to an asset like an RRSP, TFSA, pension, or life-insurance policy that names who receives it directly when you die — often bypassing your will entirely. These must be kept in sync with your overall plan.
Holograph will — A will written entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you. Ontario recognizes these without witnesses, but they're risky — easy to get wrong, easy to challenge — and not a substitute for a proper will.
People
Testator — The person who makes the will. (A female will-maker is sometimes called a testatrix, though testator is used for everyone now.)
Executor / Estate Trustee — The person (or company) named to carry out the will: gathering assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what's left. Executor is the traditional word; estate trustee is the current Ontario term for the same role.
Beneficiary — Anyone who receives something under a will, a trust, or a beneficiary designation. Your beneficiaries are simply the people and organizations you're leaving something to.
Attorney — In estate planning this does not mean a lawyer. It means the person you appoint under a Power of Attorney to act for you — your attorney for property or attorney for personal care.
Guardian — The person who would care for your minor children if you (and the other parent) couldn't. In a will you can name who you'd want, which carries real weight, though a court has the final say on a child's best interests.
Trustee — A person or company that holds and manages property in a trust for someone else (the beneficiary), bound by strict legal duties to act in that beneficiary's interest.
Settlor — The person who creates a trust and puts the first property into it. In a will-based trust, the settlor is the person who made the will.
Witness — A person who watches you sign your will and signs it too, confirming it was properly executed. Ontario has specific rules about who may witness — notably, a beneficiary (or their spouse) generally should not witness, as it can jeopardize their gift.
The Process
Probate — The court process that confirms a will is valid and confirms the executor's authority to act. Many estates need it before banks and the land registry will deal with the executor; some smaller or simpler estates may not.
Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee — The formal Ontario document the court issues at the end of probate. It's the official proof that the estate trustee has authority — the modern name for what people used to call "letters probate."
Estate Administration Tax — Ontario's tax payable on the value of an estate when you apply for probate (historically called "probate fees"). It's calculated on the estate's value; the rate and any exempt threshold change, so verify the current amount with the Ministry of Finance / the court.
Intestacy — Dying without a valid will. When that happens, a fixed set of Ontario rules (under the Succession Law Reform Act) — not your wishes — decides who inherits and in what shares. It's the outcome an estate plan exists to avoid.
Renunciation — When a person named as executor formally declines to take on the role before acting. Naming a backup (alternate) executor in your will avoids a gap if your first choice renounces.
Passing of accounts — A court process in which an estate trustee presents a formal accounting of everything they collected, spent, and distributed, for approval. It may be required or requested where beneficiaries want oversight or disputes arise.
Clearance certificate — A document an estate trustee can request from the Canada Revenue Agency confirming the estate's taxes are paid. Distributing the estate before getting one can leave the trustee personally on the hook for unpaid tax, so it's an important safeguard.
Executor's year — The customary period (about one year from death) the law allows an executor to gather assets, settle affairs, and distribute the estate before beneficiaries can reasonably press for their inheritance. Complex estates often take longer.
Attestation — The act of witnessing and signing a will to confirm it was executed properly. The clause near the signatures describing this is the attestation clause.
Key Concepts
Estate — Everything you own (assets) minus what you owe (debts) at death. Note that some assets — like jointly held property or those with a beneficiary designation — may pass outside your estate.
Residue — What's left over in your estate after debts, taxes, expenses, and any specific gifts have been paid out. The person who receives it is your residuary beneficiary, and the residue is often the largest part of an estate.
Specific bequest — A gift of a particular thing in your will — a named sum of money, a piece of jewellery, a car, a specific account. Everything not specifically given away falls into the residue.
Per stirpes — A Latin phrase meaning "by branch." It describes how a gift flows down a family line: if a beneficiary dies before you, their share passes to their children rather than being redistributed among your other beneficiaries. It's a common way to keep gifts within each child's family.
Right of survivorship — A feature of property held in joint tenancy: when one owner dies, their share passes automatically to the surviving joint owner(s), outside the will and probate. It's powerful and easy to overlook in planning.
Deemed disposition — A tax rule that treats you as having sold your capital property at death (at fair market value), even though no sale occurred — potentially triggering capital-gains tax in your final return. Certain transfers, such as to a spouse or a spousal trust, can defer this; confirm the current rules with a tax advisor.
Henson trust — A fully discretionary trust designed so a beneficiary who receives disability supports (ODSP) can benefit from an inheritance without losing those benefits, because they have no enforceable right to demand the funds.
Capacity — The mental ability the law requires to do something valid — for example, to make a will or grant a power of attorney. The required level depends on the act, and disputes about capacity are a common source of estate litigation.
Affidavit of execution — A sworn statement by a witness confirming how and when a will was signed. It's commonly prepared at signing and used later to help prove the will on a probate application.
Estate trustee with a will / without a will — The Ontario labels for the person administering an estate with a valid will (named in it) versus without one (appointed under the intestacy rules). The certificate they receive is titled accordingly.
Lapse / ademption — Two ways a gift can fail. A gift lapses when the beneficiary dies before you (with no backup named); a gift adeems when the specific item you left no longer exists in your estate (you sold the car you'd left to someone). Good drafting plans for both.
Encroachment — A trustee's power to dip into a trust's capital (not just its income) to benefit a beneficiary — for example, paying out of principal for a beneficiary's health or housing. The will or trust sets out when this is allowed.
Terms you'll hear together: When someone dies intestate (no will), Ontario's intestacy rules decide the beneficiaries, an estate trustee without a will is appointed through probate, and the Certificate of Appointment proves their authority. On the planning side, a testator signs a will before witnesses (attestation), names an executor/estate trustee and guardians, and coordinates beneficiary designations and right of survivorship assets so nothing slips through a crack.
How Treadstone Law can help
If any term here describes a decision you're facing — making a will, naming powers of attorney, sorting out a beneficiary designation, or administering an estate — we can make it plain and get it done.
- Flat, transparent fees — clear pricing before we begin.
- Online intake and virtual service across Ontario — handle it from home.
- Office in Mississauga, serving clients province-wide.
Start your file online at treadstonelaw.ca/start-file, browse treadstonelaw.ca/wills-estates and treadstonelaw.ca/pricing, or call 1-844-900-1070.
This is not legal advice
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Ontario laws, tax rates, and government programs change, and how the law applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, speak with a licensed Ontario lawyer. Treadstone Law is licensed by the Law Society of Ontario — reach us at 1-844-900-1070 or start a file online.