Probate is Nunavut’s process for confirming a will and authorising someone to act. It does not decide who inherits — it authorises the person who gathers and distributes.
Cost and process in Nunavut
| Item | Nunavut |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Wills Act and Intestate Succession Act |
| Court | Nunavut Court of Justice |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid, and materially more generous than the plain 'wholly handwritten' rule most provinces use. Nunavut's own 2005 amendment defines a will's 'own writing' to include "handwriting, footwriting, mouthwriting or writing of a similar kind" (an explicit disability accommodation not found in Northwest Territories law or, so far, in any other jurisdiction checked in this pass). It also validates a will that is only PARTLY in the testator's own writing and partly printed/typewritten/other written form — without witnesses — as long as it appears the testator intended to incorporate the printed words and the testator signed it. This is broader than a strict wholly-handwritten holograph rule. |
| Probate cost | A capped, flat-band fee schedule, structurally identical to the Northwest Territories' but with its own (slightly lower) top figure: $30 for estates of $10,000 or less; $110 for estates over $10,000 up to $25,000; $215 for estates over $25,000 up to $125,000; $325 for estates over $125,000 up to $250,000; and a flat $425 for every estate over $250,000, regardless of size. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | $50,000, per the last primary text this pass could verify — NOT $100,000 (the Northwest Territories' current figure). Nunavut's Intestate Succession Act was carried forward from the pre-1999 NWT statute at $50,000 and, unlike the NWT, was NOT part of the 2015 NWT amendment that raised the NWT figure to $100,000 (that amendment was made after the two territories separated and has no application in Nunavut). Mechanically it otherwise mirrors NWT's older structure: below $50,000 the spouse takes everything; above it, the spouse takes $50,000 (with interest) plus a home-election right, then shares the residue with issue (1/2 with one child, 1/3 with more than one). [confirm against the statute] |
| Will registry | No central government will registry. |
| Claims against the estate | Dependants Relief Act claims — Nunavut's own consolidation of the Act (distinct from the Northwest Territories', though built on the same base), current to 31 May 2024. "Dependant" means: the surviving spouse (defined in the Act itself as married, OR cohabiting for 2+ years, OR cohabiting in a relationship of some permanence with a child together — no cross-reference to a separate Family Law Act, unlike NWT); a child under 19; a child 19 or over unable to earn a livelihood because of disability; a person who cohabited with the deceased for at least 1 year immediately before death and was financially dependent on them; or a person acting as a foster parent of the deceased's children in the household who was financially dependent on the deceased. As in the Northwest Territories, Yukon and PEI, an independent, able-bodied adult child has NO claim under this Act. |
What the executor has to do
- Locate the original will and confirm it is the latest one.
- Apply to the court for authority to act.
- Identify and secure the assets; notify institutions.
- Pay funeral expenses, debts and taxes — including the deemed disposition on death.
- Obtain a CRA clearance certificate before distributing.
- Distribute, and account to the beneficiaries.
An executor who distributes before debts and taxes are settled, or who fails to search properly for a will, can be held personally responsible. This is the reason a documented search matters.
The Islamic order of payment
Classical fiqh sets the same sequence Canadian administration follows in practice: funeral expenses first, then debts, then the wasiyyah up to one third, then the faraid shares. An unpaid mahr ranks as a debt of the estate, ahead of any bequest or inheritance.
Common questions
How long does probate take?
Commonly several months to over a year, depending on the court's backlog, the complexity of the estate, and how quickly a CRA clearance certificate is issued.
Can the funeral be paid before probate?
Usually yes. Most financial institutions will release funds from the deceased's account for funeral expenses specifically, which matters given how quickly a janazah takes place.
Does every estate need probate?
No. Estates consisting only of jointly held property and assets with named beneficiaries may avoid it entirely. That is avoidance of PROBATE; whether those assets also fall outside the faraid shares is disputed among contemporary scholars, and several fatwa bodies say it does not.
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 has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Probate fees by province / territory — TaxTips.ca
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada
- Holograph handwritten will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Intestacy spouse one child ontario — Treadstone Law
- Built company together only one of us on title ontario — Treadstone Law
- Is ontario will valid if signed by one witness — Treadstone Law
- Executor claims against estate creditor — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law