Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee

What is a certificate of appointment of estate trustee

In many cases, in order to administer a person's estate, a certificate of appointment of estate trustee will need to be obtained from the court.

An application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee was formerly referred to as a probate application. A certificate of appointment of estate trustee is a document which is issued by court. Where there is a Will, a copy of the Will is attached to the certificate.

The purposes of the certificate of appointment of estate trustee are the following:

• where there is a Will, the certificate (a) approves the Will; (b) confirms the named executor(s) authority; and/or (c) if the named executor(s) has died or is unable to act, authorizes one or more other persons to act as executor; and
• where there is no Will, the certificate gives one or more persons the authority to act as executor.

When is a certificate of appointment of estate trustee required

A certificate of appointment of estate trustee is not always required to administer an estate. The following are some common scenarios where the certificate is required:

• there is no Will;
• the executors named in the Will have died or are unable or unwilling to act;
• real estate which is not held jointly with another person forms part of the estate;
• a financial institution, such as a bank or investment brokerage, requires the certificate; and
• there is a dispute related to the validity of the Will or who should act as executor.

Estate administration tax

In Ontario, estate administration tax is payable when an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee is made. The amount of tax payable be the estate is equal to 1.5% value of estate in excess of $50,000.