How do you apply for probate in Ontario?

What you are actually applying for: the Certificate of Appointment

Probate’s formal name in Ontario is the Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee. It is the court’s confirmation of who has authority to administer the estate, and it is the document the land registry and the banks act on. If the estate includes a home registered solely in the deceased’s name, the sale generally cannot close without it, which is why the application is usually the first hard deadline an executor faces.

The probate application, step by step

1. Confirm the right court. Applications are filed with the Superior Court of Justice in the county or district where the deceased lived at death. Durham estates file locally; if the deceased lived outside Ontario, the filing goes where they owned Ontario property.

2. Assemble the package. The core is the Form 74A application, the original will and any codicils, proof of death, and the supporting affidavits that fit the situation, such as an affidavit of execution for the will. The forms were overhauled in January 2022 and have been amended several times since, so always download the current versions from the Ontario court forms site rather than reusing an old set.

3. Value every asset at fair market value.The application states the estate’s value, and the home is usually the biggest line. This number drives the Estate Administration Tax and is later cross-checked against the Estate Information Return, so it needs real support behind it. A documented valuation of the home, prepared before filing, protects the estate trustee twice: it supports the tax filing and it starts the record of pursuing fair market value on the sale.

4. Serve the beneficiaries first, then file.Since the 2022 rule changes there is no separate notice form: the signed application itself is served on every person entitled to share in the estate before it is filed, including the Children’s Lawyer or Public Guardian and Trustee where a beneficiary is a minor or incapable, and proof of service is filed with the application. Applications can be filed by email, by mail or in person.

5. Pay the deposit. Estate Administration Tax is paid as a deposit on filing: nothing on the first $50,000 of estate value, then $15 per $1,000 above it, roughly 1.5 percent. The calculator gives you the estate’s number in seconds. If the application is withdrawn or refused before a certificate issues, the deposit can be refunded.

6. Bond, if there is no will.Where the deceased died without a will, or the applicant is not named in it or lives outside the Commonwealth, the Estates Act requires an administration bond, in principle for double the estate’s value. Courts routinely reduce or dispense with the bond on a supported request, and since 2022 the rules set out the procedure, but it is one more reason intestate applications benefit from a lawyer.

How long probate takes, honestly

Ontario reports that complete, correct applications are typically processed in about 15 business days. The real-world wait from starting the paperwork to holding the certificate commonly runs 2 to 6 months, because preparation, service, requisitions and court volumes all sit outside that 15-day clock. A defective application goes to the back of the queue, which is the strongest practical argument for getting it right the first time.

The small estate shortcut

Estates valued at $150,000 or less can use the Small Estate Certificate, a shorter application with its own form series and, in most cases, no bond. At Durham house prices a solely owned home almost always puts an estate past the threshold, but where the estate is near the line, ask the lawyer before paying for the full process.

This is general information for Ontario, not legal advice. Forms and rules have changed several times since 2022; confirm the current requirements with an estate lawyer or the court before filing.