From the date of death to a Certificate of Appointment in hand, two to four months is a common experience outside Toronto when the application is complete and the court is not backlogged. Administering the whole estate, from the certificate to the final distribution, usually takes six to twelve months, and longer when there is a house to sell or a tax clearance to wait for.
Those ranges hide a lot of variation. The rest of this guide breaks the process into phases so you can see where the time goes and which parts you control.
The timeline, phase by phase
| Phase | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gathering information | Locate the original will, obtain proof of death, identify every asset and its value at the date of death, confirm beneficiaries' names and addresses | 2 to 8 weeks |
| 2. Preparing and serving | Draft the application and affidavits, calculate the Estate Administration Tax, serve the notice on every beneficiary, arrange a bond if required | 1 to 3 weeks |
| 3. Court review | Registrar checks the application and issues the certificate, or sends a requisition asking for corrections | About 15 business days once complete, per ontario.ca; longer at busy courts |
| 4. Estate Information Return | Filed with the Ministry of Finance after the certificate is issued | Due within 180 days of the certificate |
| 5. Administration | Collect assets, pay debts, file tax returns, sell property, distribute, obtain releases and a clearance certificate | 6 to 12 months, sometimes longer |
Phase 1 is the one families underestimate. Date-of-death values for every account, a property appraisal, and correct addresses for every beneficiary all have to exist before the forms can be sworn.
What most often causes delay
- A rejected application. A wrong value, a missing signature, notice not served on one beneficiary, or an unsigned affidavit sends the file back. Each round trip can add weeks.
- The original will cannot be found. A copy can sometimes be proved, but it requires additional evidence and often a court hearing.
- A bond is required. Where there is no will, or the trustee lives outside Ontario, the court usually requires security. Obtaining a bond from a surety, or a court order dispensing with it, takes time.
- Beneficiaries who are minors or cannot be located. Notice must reach the Office of the Children's Lawyer for a minor, and a missing beneficiary has to be searched for.
- Assets that are hard to value, such as private company shares, foreign property or collectibles.
- Family disagreement. A notice of objection filed by a family member stops the certificate from being issued until it is resolved.
What you can do to keep it moving
- Order several copies of the death certificate at the start. Every institution wants one.
- Ask each bank and investment firm, in writing, for the date-of-death balance and whether it will require a certificate.
- Get the property appraised or obtain a written opinion of value from a realtor early.
- Collect full legal names, addresses and dates of birth for every beneficiary.
- Do not distribute anything, pay any debt or sign anything on behalf of the estate before you have authority, except the funeral.
Use the probate document checklist to see everything on one page.
Deadlines that run alongside
- Estate Information Return: within 180 calendar days after the certificate is issued.
- Final income tax return: if the death was between January 1 and October 31, by April 30 of the following year; if between November 1 and December 31, six months after the date of death.
- Executor's year: beneficiaries generally cannot compel distribution until a year after death, which gives the trustee room to do the job properly.
Common questions
The Ontario government states that complete applications are typically processed within about 15 business days. Actual times vary by courthouse and by season. Smaller and mid-sized courts such as Milton or Brampton are often within a few weeks; Toronto handles a much larger volume and has historically taken longer, sometimes several months.
Only in limited circumstances, for example where a property sale is closing on a fixed date or an asset is at risk. A request for urgent processing must be made to the court with an explanation. The most reliable way to shorten the timeline is to file a complete, correct application the first time.
The most common reasons are an incorrect estate value or tax calculation, missing signatures or commissioning on affidavits, notice not served on every beneficiary before filing, an original will that was not filed, and a bond that was required but not provided. Each rejection returns the file to the back of the queue.
It depends on the estate. The trustee must collect the assets, pay debts and taxes and file the Estate Information Return first. Many estates make an interim distribution within a few months of the certificate and hold back a reserve until the Canada Revenue Agency issues a clearance certificate, which can take several more months.
A long-standing rule that beneficiaries generally cannot demand their inheritance until one year after the death. It gives the trustee time to administer the estate properly. Interest may become payable on cash gifts that are paid later than that.