Yukon
What to do when someone dies in Yukon: a step-by-step checklist
A Yukon checklist for the first days after a death: registering the death with Yukon Vital Statistics, ordering certificates, applying for probate in the Supreme Court of Yukon, and territorial notifications.
- Called
- executor
- Court authority
- Grant of Probate
- Death registered with
- Yukon Vital Statistics Agency
Yukon administers estates under the Estate Administration Act, with grants issued by the Supreme Court of Yukon in Whitehorse. The person named in a will is the executor; where there is no will, an administrator is appointed.
Registering the death in Yukon
The death is registered with the Yukon Vital Statistics Agency, usually by the funeral home. Death certificates are ordered from that agency. In communities without a funeral home, the process can involve the coroner and travel, which adds days.
Probate in Yukon
- The application is filed with the Supreme Court of Yukon in Whitehorse.
- Yukon's probate fee is a flat amount, with a lower fee for small estates — one of the simplest fee structures in the country.
- An inventory of assets and liabilities accompanies the application.
- Land is transferred through the Yukon Land Titles Office.
Yukon-specific notifications
- Yukon Health Care Insurance Plan — cancel the territorial health card.
- Yukon Motor Vehicles — driver's licence, registration and plates.
- Yukon Land Titles, where real property is held.
- Yukon Social Assistance or Pioneer Utility Grant, if received.
- First Nation government offices, where the person was a citizen of a self-governing Yukon First Nation, as settlement land and beneficiary entitlements follow their own rules.
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 Yukon, 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.