Prince Edward Island
What to do when someone dies in Prince Edward Island: a step-by-step checklist
A Prince Edward Island checklist for the first days after a death: registering the death, ordering certificates, the Estates Section process, and PEI-specific notifications.
- Called
- executor
- Court authority
- Grant of Probate
- Death registered with
- PEI Vital Statistics
Prince Edward Island administers estates under the Probate Act, through the Estates Section of the Supreme Court. The person named in a will is the executor; an administrator is appointed where there is no will.
Registering the death in PEI
The funeral home registers the death with Vital Statistics. Death certificates are ordered through Access PEI. Because the province is small, most of this can be done in person in a single visit — but the number of copies matters just as much as it does elsewhere.
Probate in Prince Edward Island
- The application is filed with the Estates Section of the Supreme Court in Charlottetown.
- Probate fees are set on a sliding scale by estate value, with a percentage applied above the top bracket.
- An inventory of the estate is required, and the court may call for a final accounting.
- Real property is transferred through the provincial Registry Office and the land identification system.
PEI-specific notifications
- PEI Health Card — cancel through Health PEI.
- Access PEI — driver's licence, vehicle registration and plates.
- The Registry Office, where real property is held.
- Social Assistance or the PEI Seniors Housing programs, if applicable.
- Maritime Electric and municipal or provincial property tax accounts.
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 Prince Edward Island, 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 executor would otherwise have to go looking for — organized while you're here, released only after authority is verified.