It is a provincial fee charged on the value of assets passing through probate. It can be reduced — but the usual methods also remove assets from the faraid shares.
The Canadian position
Ontario charges roughly 1.5% above $50,000; Alberta caps at $525; Manitoba charges nothing. Nova Scotia is among the highest.
Common reduction techniques are joint ownership, beneficiary designations, multiple wills and inter vivos trusts.
The Islamic position
Every one of those techniques moves an asset outside the estate. That is precisely the pool the fixed shares apply to, so aggressive probate planning and a faraid distribution work against each other.
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.
Do not let a tax saving quietly rewrite your distribution. Decide asset by asset which outcome matters more.
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
- Notifying beneficiaries before probate application ontario — Treadstone Law
- Why similar estates pay different estate administration tax ontario — Treadstone Law
- What does estate trustee do intestate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Cost of probate avoidance vs savings ontario — Treadstone Law
- Paying estate administration tax no cash ontario — Treadstone Law
- Probate fees vs income tax at death ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law