Usually yes. Most Canadian financial institutions will release funds from the deceased's account for funeral expenses specifically, even before a grant is issued.
The Canadian position
Accounts are typically frozen on notice of death, but banks routinely make an exception for funeral costs on production of the invoice and a statement of death.
Funeral expenses rank ahead of other debts in estate administration.
The Islamic position
This matters more for Muslim families than most, because burial happens within a day and the cost falls due immediately. The classical order of payment — funeral expenses, then debts, then bequest, then shares — matches the Canadian sequence.
All four schools work through the estate in the same order: the cost of preparing and burying the body, then debts, then bequests up to one third, and only what is left is divided by the fixed shares. The disputes are not about the sequence but about two rankings inside it.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — The order of payment out of an estate.
What to do about it
- Get the funeral director's statement of death immediately; multiple copies.
- Take the invoice to the deceased's bank and ask specifically for funeral release.
- Keep every receipt — these are estate expenses, reimbursable.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- What to do when someone dies — Government of Ontario
- Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario
- Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
- Estates Act, RSO 1990, c E.21 — Government of Ontario
- Bank release funds after probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Are funeral expenses paid first insolvent estate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Accessing deceased bank accounts before probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Securing deceased property immediately after death ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law