By Karim Eshqoor, BBA, LLB, LLM · Barrister & Solicitor (LSO #83032R) · Barbarian Law® · October 2026
An executor, called an estate trustee in Ontario, is the person your will names to wind up your affairs after you die. They locate the will, arrange the funeral, gather and protect the assets, apply to the court for a certificate of appointment if one is needed, pay the debts and taxes, and then distribute what’s left to the beneficiaries, keeping accounts the whole way. It is unpaid work unless the will or the court says otherwise, it usually takes a year or more, and the trustee is personally responsible for getting it right. Choosing the right person is one of the two decisions that matter most in a will.
What is an estate trustee?
Ontario’s court rules stopped using the word “executor” in the 1990s. The person named in a will is an estate trustee with a will; the person a court appoints when there is no will is an estate trustee without a will. Everyone still says executor, and the job is the same: the estate trustee stands in your shoes, holds your property in trust, and owes the beneficiaries a duty to deal with it honestly and carefully. The authority comes from the will itself on the day you die. The court’s certificate, which people call probate, confirms it to banks and the land registry.
What does an executor do, step by step?
The order varies a little from estate to estate. The list doesn’t.
- Find the original will and read it. It’s the reason we tell each client where the original should live and who needs to know. A copy is not enough for the court without an explanation of what happened to the original.
- Arrange the funeral and get the death certificate. The trustee, not the family, has the final say on the funeral, though a good will says what you want.
- Secure the assets. Lock the house, tell the insurer it’s vacant, redirect the mail, cancel the subscriptions, and stop anyone, including family, from removing things.
- Make an inventory. Bank and investment accounts, the house and any other land, vehicles, business interests, life insurance and registered plans with their named beneficiaries, and each debt. The values are as of the date of death.
- Apply for a certificate of appointment if the estate needs one (next section). The application goes to the Superior Court under Rule 74 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, with the original will, the affidavit of execution sworn when it was signed, and an estate information return filed with the Ministry of Finance afterwards.
- Collect the assets into an estate account, sell what the will says to sell, and keep the house insured and maintained until it’s transferred or sold.
- Pay the debts, including the final income tax return. A trustee who distributes before the debts and the CRA are settled can be personally liable for the shortfall, which is why most trustees get a clearance certificate from the CRA before the final payment.
- Distribute according to the will, and get a signed release from each beneficiary.
- Account. Keep a record of each dollar in and out. Beneficiaries are entitled to see it, and a court can require a formal passing of accounts.
Which estates need probate?
Not all of them. A certificate of appointment is needed when someone holding an asset insists on it before they’ll release it. Banks usually do above a modest balance, and the land registry does for a house in the deceased’s name alone. Assets that pass outside the estate don’t need it: a home owned as joint tenants with a surviving spouse goes by survivorship (we prepare the survivorship application to update the title), and a registered plan or life insurance policy with a named beneficiary is paid directly to that person. Ontario also has a simplified process for small estates, with a lower threshold set by regulation. The trustee’s first job after the inventory is working out which assets need the certificate and which don’t.
How long does an executor have?
There’s no statutory deadline to finish, but there is a convention the courts respect: the executor’s year. A trustee is generally given twelve months from the death to gather the assets, pay the debts and be in a position to distribute, and beneficiaries can’t usually demand their share before then. After the year, interest can start running on cash gifts, and a beneficiary who thinks the trustee is dragging can ask the court to intervene. A straightforward estate with a house to sell takes a year to eighteen months. Anything with a business, a dispute or property outside Ontario takes longer.
Is an executor paid?
Only if the will says so or the beneficiaries or the court approve it. The Trustee Act allows “fair and reasonable” compensation, and Ontario courts have long used a guideline of 2.5% of what comes into the estate and 2.5% of what goes out, plus a small annual management fee for estates that stay open for years. On a $1,000,000 estate that’s roughly $50,000 before tax, which is why many people name a family member who will waive it, or set the compensation in the will so nobody argues about it later. Compensation is taxable income to the trustee, which is a conversation for their accountant.
Who should you name?
Someone organized, honest, and likely to outlive you, who lives in Ontario or at least in Canada. A trustee outside Canada can be required to post a bond before the court will issue the certificate, and the CRA treats a trust run from outside the country differently, so a non-resident child is usually the wrong choice however trusted they are. Name an alternate. Spouses often name each other first and an adult child or a sibling second. Two trustees acting together is fine for a couple of siblings who get along; three is a committee. Ask the person before you name them. Our wills and powers of attorney are $750 + HST for a will, or $1,100 + HST with both powers of attorney, and choosing the trustee is the first thing we talk about.
The bottom line
An estate trustee is an unpaid project manager with personal liability and a one-year clock, working for people who are grieving and watching. Name someone who can do that, name a backup, and tell them where the will is. The will itself is $750 + HST. The person you put in it is the part that’s free, and the part that decides whether the rest works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an executor and an estate trustee?
Nothing in substance. Ontario’s court rules use “estate trustee” for the person who administers an estate, with a will or without one. “Executor” is the older term and the one most people still use.
Can an executor be a beneficiary?
Yes, and they usually are. A spouse or an adult child is commonly both the estate trustee and a beneficiary. The one rule is about witnessing: a beneficiary or their spouse must not sign as a witness to the will, or the gift to them is void.
Can an executor refuse to act?
Yes. Nobody can be forced to take the job. A named trustee who hasn’t started dealing with the estate can renounce, and the alternate named in the will steps in. Name a backup in the will and the question never comes up.
Does the executor need a lawyer?
Usually. Most need one for the court application and for a house that has to be transferred or sold. The lawyer’s fees are paid by the estate, not by the trustee personally, and are an ordinary estate expense in the accounts.
What happens if there is no will?
Someone, usually the spouse or a child, applies to the court to be appointed estate trustee without a will, and the estate is divided under Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act rather than by anyone’s choice. The spouse takes a preferential share and the rest is split by formula among the spouse and children.
Name the right person, in a will that works.
A will is $750 + HST. A will with both powers of attorney is $1,100 + HST, or $1,000 if you book by December 31, 2026. Two appointments, one signing, no deposit.
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This article is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Every situation is different; speak with a lawyer about yours.
