Probate is Ontario’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 Ontario
| Item | Ontario |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Succession Law Reform Act |
| Court | Superior Court of Justice |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid |
| Probate cost | Estate Administration Tax: nil on the first $50,000, then about $15 per $1,000 of value above that (roughly 1.5%). A Small Estate Certificate is available for estates of $150,000 or less. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | $350,000 for deaths on or after 1 March 2021 ($200,000 before that date). |
| Will registry | No central government registry of wills. This is the gap a private registry fills. |
| Claims against the estate | Dependant support claims under Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act. Ontario does not have a BC-style wills variation regime for independent adult children. |
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 — though that is also how assets escape the faraid distribution.
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.
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario
- Locating wills and documents — Law Society of Ontario
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Compensation for buyer delayed closing not their fault — Treadstone Law
- Emergency removal executor dissipating assets ontario — Treadstone Law
- Does a will need to be probated in ontario — Treadstone Law
- Role estate trustee during administration — Treadstone Law
- Executor bond increase as estate value grows ontario — Treadstone Law
- Resp accounts included probate estate value ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada