Probate in Canada: What It Is, What It Costs, and Why Organization Shortens It

Probate has a worse reputation than it deserves. It isn't a tax on grief and it isn't a trap. It's the court confirming that the will is the real one and that the person acting on it has the authority to do so — which is precisely what a bank needs before it releases someone else's money.

What probate actually is

The court reviews the will, confirms the appointment, and issues a document. Everyone downstream — banks, transfer agents, land registries — relies on that document. What it is called depends on where you live: a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee in Ontario, a Grant of Probate in Alberta and Nova Scotia, a grant under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act in British Columbia. Quebec is different: a notarial will takes effect without probate, and other wills are probated by a court or notary.

What it costs

Probate fees are provincial and are charged on the value of the estate passing through it. Ontario charges Estate Administration Tax; British Columbia charges probate fees above a set threshold; Nova Scotia uses a sliding scale with a percentage above the top bracket; Alberta's court fees are capped at a comparatively modest amount; Quebec's notarial wills avoid the process entirely. Rates and thresholds change, so confirm the current figures with the province before relying on any number.

What passes outside the estate

• Life insurance with a named beneficiary pays that person directly.
• Registered accounts — RRSP, TFSA, RRIF, RESP — with a named beneficiary or successor holder generally pass outside the estate.
• Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner, though whether a joint arrangement is what it appears to be is a question lawyers argue over often.
• Assets in certain trusts, depending on how they were set up.

Which is why beneficiary designations deserve a review of their own. A designation made twenty years ago outranks a will written last month.

The part a family can control

You can't change your province's fee schedule from your kitchen table. You can change how long the inventory takes. Every estate lawyer describes the same two categories of client: the one whose family arrives with a list, and the one whose family arrives with a shoebox and a login they can't get into.

1. 1Keep a current list of every financial institution, policy and property, with account and policy numbers.
2. 2Keep the original will somewhere findable, and tell your executor where it is.
3. 3Review your beneficiary designations whenever your family changes.
4. 4Record where the physical documents live — the safety deposit box, the fireproof box, the lawyer's file.
5. 5Keep the last several years of tax returns together; the CRA clearance certificate depends on them.

None of that reduces the fee. All of it reduces the months, and the months are where the real cost lives.

General information about Canadian estate processes, not legal or tax advice. Fees and thresholds vary by province and change over time.