Commonly several months to well over a year. The court grant itself may take weeks; the delay usually comes from valuing assets and waiting for a CRA clearance certificate.
The Canadian position
Court processing times vary widely by province and by registry. Beyond the grant, an executor must identify assets, pay debts, file the final return, and generally obtain a clearance certificate before distributing.
The 'executor's year' is the customary period an executor has before beneficiaries can press for distribution.
The Islamic position
Islamic practice favours prompt settlement of debts and distribution, which sits uneasily with a year-long administration. Where heirs need funds sooner, an interim distribution with an adequate holdback is the usual route.
The shares vest at death. The Kuwaiti encyclopaedia records no disagreement among the jurists that an estate carrying no debt passes to the heirs from the moment of death, and that it does so compulsorily — an heir need not accept it. Delay is therefore not withholding a benefit but withholding property that already belongs to someone else. No school states a deadline. What the four differ on is whether a debt-encumbered estate vests at death at all, and so whether a division made before the debts are cleared is void: the Hanafi and Maliki schools undo it, the Shafi’i and Hanbali schools do not. The enforcement mechanism is not a clock but a court — any co-owner may demand division, and the judge’s duty is to compel the one who refuses.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — How quickly must the estate be distributed?.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
What to do about it
- Ask the executor for a timeline and an inventory early.
- Expect the clearance certificate to be the long pole.
- Consider an interim distribution if heirs are in genuine need.
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.
- 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
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp) — Justice Laws Canada
- Lmia processing times validity what to expect — Treadstone Law
- What is clearance certificate cra — Treadstone Law
- Cra clearance certificate estate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Bank requirements beyond probate certificate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law