Immediately First hours
Almost nothing administrative can happen yet. These are the only things that matter today.
- Call a funeral home experienced with Muslim burial.They will collect the deceased and begin the paperwork that leads to a burial permit.
- Notify the masjid’s funeral coordinator.They arrange ghusl, kafan and salat al-janazah, and often know which funeral homes move fastest.
- Ask the funeral director for the statement of death.Request at least ten copies. Nearly every institution will want one.
- Find the original will before anything is moved.Check the home, the safe, and any file of important documents. Do not clear the property out first.
- Do not give anything away.Not jewellery, not a car, not cash — however obvious it seems who it should go to.
If the death was sudden, unattended or unexplained, a coroner may investigate and the body
cannot be released until that completes — commonly a matter of days. Consent is not required and the process
cannot be waived. This is a legal step, not a failure on the family’s part.
Paying for the funeral First 48 hours
Accounts are usually frozen on notice of death — but there is a specific exception for this.
- Take the funeral invoice to the deceased’s bank.Most Canadian institutions release funds from the account for funeral costs specifically, before probate.
- Keep every receipt.Funeral expenses are an estate expense and are reimbursable to whoever advances them.
- Check whether a prepaid arrangement or a cemetery plot already exists.
Both systems agree here. Funeral expenses rank first in Canadian estate administration
and first in the classical Islamic order of payment — before debts, before any bequest, and before the fixed shares.
Settling the practical things First week
Once the burial is done, the order of these matters — several depend on the ones before.
- Register the death.The funeral director normally does this. The provincial death certificate follows and is what institutions require.
- Confirm who is named executor in the will.Read it before acting. If no will can be found, start documenting your search now.
- Notify Service Canada and the provincial health authority.Cancel the SIN, health card, passport and driver’s licence to prevent identity fraud.
- Notify banks, insurers and pension administrators.
- Check the home insurance.Cover frequently lapses or reduces once a property is unoccupied. This is the most commonly missed item of the week.
- Open a dedicated estate bank account.Never mix estate money with your own — it is a serious breach of an executor’s duty.
Administering the estate First months
This is where the timeline stretches. A year from death to final distribution is normal.
- Apply for probate if the institutions require it.Land registry and most investment firms do. Small bank balances often do not.
- Inventory and value everything as at the date of death.Use professional appraisals for property and business interests.
- Publish a notice to creditors.It protects the executor from claims arriving after distribution.
- Pay funeral expenses, then debts, then taxes.Unpaid or deferred mahr is a debt of the estate and ranks with other creditors.
- File the final tax return, and request a CRA clearance certificate.Distributing without one can leave the executor personally liable for unpaid tax.
- Distribute, take signed releases, and keep the records.
Do not distribute early, however much pressure there is. If the estate later proves short,
the shortfall falls on the executor personally. Where heirs are in genuine need, an interim distribution with an
adequate holdback is the safe route.
Numbers to have ready
Fill these in before you need them. Masjids printing this for their community may wish to complete the first two lines before handing it out.
Masjid funeral coordinator
Funeral home
Cemetery / plot reference
Executor named in the will
Family lawyer
Where the original will is kept
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer. Prepared by the Islamic Will Registry — islamicwillregistry.com/ilm-hub — free to print, copy and share.