Wills & Estates

Overview

Everyone in Ontario already has an estate plan. If you have not made a will, the province has made one for you, and it follows a fixed formula in the Succession Law Reform Act rather than anything you would have chosen. Making your own is simply the act of replacing that default with your own decisions.

It is usually simpler than people expect. A will says who receives what and who is in charge of carrying it out. Two powers of attorney cover the other half of the picture — what happens if you are alive but unable to manage your own money or your own care.

If you are reading this because someone has died, the ground is different. There are forms, a court application and duties that land on one person at the hardest possible moment. We can take that work off you, or simply explain what has to happen next.

How we help

Wills, simple and complex

A will names who receives your estate, appoints the estate trustee who carries it out, and can set up a trust for a young child or a family member with a disability. We draft in plain language, go through every clause before you sign, and execute it the way Ontario requires. If you want a will that follows Islamic inheritance principles, that is handled on our Islamic wills page.

Continuing power of attorney for property

This lets someone you choose manage your finances — bills, accounts, investments, property. The word continuing matters: their authority carries on if you later become mentally incapable. Without one, nobody automatically has that authority, not even a spouse, and your family may have to apply to court to be appointed guardian of property. You can only make one while you still have capacity.

Power of attorney for personal care

This covers the decisions that are not about money: medical treatment, where you live, nutrition, hygiene and safety. You appoint someone to make those calls if you cannot make them yourself, and you can record wishes to guide them. It works alongside Ontario's health-care consent rules rather than replacing them, and most people should have one even if their finances are straightforward.

Guardians for young children

If you have children under eighteen, your will can name the person you want to raise them. In Ontario that appointment is temporary on its own and a judge has the final say, but it carries real weight, because it tells the court exactly what you wanted. Naming a second choice matters just as much. Parents often tell us this is the clause that finally got them to book.

Probate applications

Probate is the court's confirmation that a will is valid and that the estate trustee has authority to act. Banks, land registry offices and investment firms usually want to see it before releasing anything. We prepare the application, the supporting affidavits and the asset valuations, and file with the Superior Court of Justice. Smaller estates can use a shorter route with less paperwork.

Estate administration

Once the certificate is issued the real work starts: securing assets, notifying institutions, paying debts, filing the final tax returns, obtaining a clearance certificate and distributing what remains. An estate trustee is personally accountable for getting that sequence right. We can run the administration end to end, or stay in the background and answer questions while you do it yourself.

Dependant support and estate disputes

Not every estate settles quietly. A will can be challenged for want of testamentary capacity — the mental ability to make a will, measured at the moment of signing — or on undue influence grounds, and someone the deceased was supporting can apply to court for support out of the estate. We act for estate trustees and for family members, and say early whether a claim is worth bringing. Where a challenge looks possible while you are planning, we take careful notes of your instructions and arrange a medical assessment if that is sensible.

How it works

1. 1

   A free first conversation

   Thirty minutes, no cost, in person or by phone. Tell us about your family and roughly what you own, and we will tell you what your plan actually needs — which is often less than people arrive expecting.

2. 2

   We map it out

   We work through your family, your assets, your beneficiary designations and how property is held, then flag anything likely to create tax, delay or an argument later. You hear the trade-offs, not just the recommendation.

3. 3

   We draft and you read it

   You get the documents in plain language with each clause explained. Take them home, sit with them, and ask whatever you want. Changes at this stage cost nothing, and most people make a few.

4. 4

   Signing, witnessing and storage

   We execute everything the way Ontario requires, including remote witnessing where that suits you, then store the originals safely and give you copies. You leave knowing where each document lives.

What happens if I die without a will in Ontario?

Your estate is divided under the Succession Law Reform Act, by a formula that knows nothing about your family. Lawyers call it dying intestate.

A married spouse takes a preferential share first — a set amount off the top, currently $350,000 where the death is on or after 1 March 2021. Above that, a spouse and one child divide the remainder equally, and a spouse with two or more children takes a third while the children share the rest.

The gap that surprises people most is common-law. A partner you never married does not inherit on an intestacy in Ontario, however long you were together, and would have to bring a claim instead. Nobody is named to be in charge either, so someone must apply to the court first.

What changed in Ontario's succession law in 2022?

Two changes matter to most people. For marriages on or after 1 January 2022, marriage no longer revokes a will you already had. The old rule cancelled it unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage.

There is no clear transitional wording for earlier marriages and the courts have not settled the point, so a will made before a pre-2022 marriage is worth reviewing.

The second change concerns separation. A separated spouse can now be treated as though they had died first, under a will and on an intestacy, where the couple lived separate and apart for three years, signed a separation agreement, or had a court order or arbitration award settling their affairs.

Ontario also gave the court power to validate a document that sets out testamentary intentions but was not signed correctly, and made video witnessing permanent.

What does probate cost, and how does it work?

The court charge is the estate administration tax. Nothing is payable on an estate of $50,000 or less. Above that it is $15 for every $1,000 of value over $50,000, with the value rounded up to the nearest thousand.

An estate of $500,000 therefore attracts $6,750. The tax applies to assets that pass through the estate, which is why beneficiary designations and how property is held can change the figure.

The process is an application to the Superior Court of Justice with the original will, sworn valuations and notice to the beneficiaries. Estates of $150,000 or less can use a simplified small estate route. How long it takes varies by court and by how complete the application is, so we would rather prepare it properly than promise a date.

What does an estate trustee actually have to do?

An estate trustee — the role most people still call the executor — is a fiduciary, which means the law holds them to a higher standard than ordinary care. The work is more administrative than dramatic.

It generally runs like this: secure the assets, apply for probate where it is needed, notify banks and government, pay the debts and taxes, file the deceased's final return and the estate's returns, obtain a clearance certificate from the Canada Revenue Agency, keep proper accounts, and only then distribute.

Two things catch people out. Distributing before the tax position is settled can leave the trustee personally responsible for the shortfall. And keeping records from the first week is far easier than reconstructing them later when a beneficiary asks to see the accounts.

What it costs

Wills and powers of attorney are commonly quoted as a flat-fee package rather than by the hour, because the work is predictable once we understand your situation. You get the figure in writing before we begin, and it does not move unless the scope does.

Probate and administration are quoted case by case, since the work depends on the assets and on whether anything is in dispute. The estate administration tax is separate — it goes to the province, not to us. The 30-minute consultation is free.

What you walk away with

A finished plan is a small stack of paper that does what you meant it to do, signed correctly and kept where the people who need it can find it. Just as importantly, the people you have named know it, and know what is being asked of them.

• A signed and properly witnessed will
• A continuing power of attorney for property
• A power of attorney for personal care
• A plain-language summary of who does what
• Originals stored safely, with copies for you

Dates that actually matter

Planning has few hard deadlines. Administration has several, and they fall on the estate trustee personally.

• Estate Information Return — Within 180 calendar days of the estate certificate being issued, the estate trustee files a return with the Ministry of Finance setting out what the estate was worth.
• Dependant support claims — An application for support out of an estate is generally due within six months of the certificate of appointment, with a limited judicial discretion afterwards over assets not yet distributed.
• Notice before a small estate application — On the small estate route, a signed copy of the application goes to everyone entitled to share in the estate at least thirty days before it is filed.
• Reviewing your own documents — No legal deadline here, only a practical one. A marriage, a separation, a birth, a death among your beneficiaries or a new property are reasons to look again.

Why Lexwood Law

• Wills and powers of attorney in plain language, so you can read your own documents
• Saturday appointments between 10 and 3, for people who cannot take a weekday off
• Service in English, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi
• A written fee quote before any drafting starts
• Planning and administration under one roof, so your plan is written by someone who has seen how estates unwind

Common questions

This page is general information, not legal advice. Every matter is different — book a consultation for advice on your situation.