Ontario
What to do when someone dies in Ontario: a step-by-step checklist
A practical Ontario checklist for the first days after a death: registering the death, ordering the death certificate, the Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, and the Estate Administration Tax.
- Called
- estate trustee
- Court authority
- Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee
- Death registered with
- ServiceOntario
In Ontario, the person named in a will to administer an estate is called the estate trustee — the role most Canadians still call the executor. If there is no will, someone applies to be appointed estate trustee without a will. Either way, the practical work begins long before any court paperwork does.
Registering the death in Ontario
The funeral home usually handles registration. Two documents move together: the Medical Certificate of Death, completed by a doctor or coroner, and the Statement of Death, completed by the funeral director and family. Those are filed with the local municipality, which forwards the registration to ServiceOntario.
The funeral director's proof of death certificate is enough for some institutions. Banks, land registry matters and insurers generally want the official death certificate ordered from ServiceOntario. Order more copies than you think you need — five to ten is normal — because several organizations will keep the one you send them.
The Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee
Ontario's version of probate is an application to the Superior Court of Justice for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee. It proves to banks, land registry and transfer agents that the estate trustee has authority to act. Not every estate needs one: small estates and jointly held property sometimes proceed without it, and Ontario has a simplified small estate process for estates under a set threshold. Whether it applies to a particular estate is a question for a lawyer.
- The application requires the original will, if there is one, plus a sworn inventory of estate assets and their values as of the date of death.
- Ontario charges an Estate Administration Tax on the value of the estate, calculated on assets passing through the estate.
- An Estate Information Return is filed with the Ministry of Finance after the certificate is issued.
- Assets with a named beneficiary — most life insurance, and registered accounts such as RRSPs, TFSAs and RRIFs — usually pass outside the estate.
Ontario-specific notifications
- ServiceOntario — health card (OHIP), driver's licence and any vehicle registrations and plates.
- Ontario Works or ODSP, if the person received provincial support.
- The Land Registry Office, where real property is held in Ontario.
- The person's Ontario-licensed insurers for home, auto and life coverage.
- The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, if there is no one able to act.
Where families in Ontario get stuck
The two most common delays have nothing to do with the courts. The first is finding the original will — a copy is often not enough. The second is discovering accounts nobody knew about, months into the process, which can mean amending filings that were already sworn as complete.
Steps that are the same everywhere in Canada
- 1Get the legal pronouncement of death. In hospital or long-term care, staff handle it. At home, call 911 unless the death was expected and a plan is in place.
- 2Contact the funeral home or crematorium. They register the death and file the paperwork that produces the death certificate.
- 3Find the will and any funeral or burial wishes before arrangements are finalized.
- 4Tell close family and the person's employer. Ask the employer about group life insurance, a final pay period and benefits for a surviving spouse.
- 5Secure the home, pets, vehicles and anything of value. Redirect the mail once you have authority to do so.
- 6Do not cancel anything paid automatically until you know what it covers — insurance especially.
Federal notifications
- Service Canada — cancel the Social Insurance Number, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement, and apply for the Canada Pension Plan death benefit, survivor's pension and children's benefit. In Quebec, this is Retraite Québec instead.
- Canada Revenue Agency — report the date of death, stop benefit payments such as the GST/HST credit and Canada Child Benefit, and file the final T1 return.
- Passport Canada — return the passport for cancellation.
- Veterans Affairs Canada, if the person served.
- Any federal pension plan the person contributed to.
General information about public processes in Ontario, not legal or tax advice. Confirm current requirements with the province or a lawyer.
Everything above starts with finding information.
A Life Box holds the documents, accounts, policies, property and people your estate trustee would otherwise have to go looking for — organized while you're here, released only after authority is verified.