Often not. Assets held in joint tenancy pass to the survivor automatically, and assets with a named beneficiary pass outside the estate. If nothing needs a grant, probate may be unnecessary.
The Canadian position
Whether probate is needed is driven by what the institutions holding the assets require, not by a rule. Land registry and most investment firms require a grant; small bank balances often do not.
The Islamic position
Avoiding probate is not religiously neutral. Every asset that passes by survivorship or designation escapes the estate — and therefore escapes the faraid shares entirely.
A family that has carefully avoided probate may have unintentionally avoided the Islamic distribution too.
The four Sunni schools are not recorded as differing materially on this point in the sources reviewed. Where your own case turns on it, put it to a scholar of your school.
Probate planning and faraid pull in opposite directions. Reducing probate tax by putting everything in joint names can remove the whole estate from the shares.
General information, not legal or religious advice. Inheritance depends entirely on the exact family circumstances. Confirm the Canadian position with a lawyer in your province and any religious ruling with a qualified scholar.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to one of the references below. Legislation and dollar thresholds change — verify against the primary source before relying on any figure.
- Research Papers — Cambridge Muslim College
- Research — Cambridge Muslim College
- Academics — Islamic law and theology curriculum — Zaytuna College
- Encyclopaedia of Islam — Brill
- 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
- Death of an RRSP annuitant — Canada Revenue Agency
- Death of a TFSA holder — Canada Revenue Agency
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship vs estate property ontario — Treadstone Law
- Matrimonial home severance into two legal units ontario — Treadstone Law
- Title fraud ontario what is it — Treadstone Law
- Right of survivorship ontario estate planning — Treadstone Law
- Registering spousal interest matrimonial home not on title ontario — Treadstone Law
- What appears on ontario title — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law