Estate Law

More information about Estate Administration

After a person passes, one or more relatives (or friends) will need to act as the deceased person’s “Estate Trustee”. Our firm can assist with:

  • Obtaining a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee With a Will or a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will (both formerly called obtaining probate).
  • Advising executors and trustees on the administration of estates and trusts.
  • Advising on variation of trust applications.
  • Advising on guardianship applications.
We assist in all types of applications to the court: Certificates of Appointment of Estate Trustee With a Will or Without a Will; Certificates of Estate Trustee During Litigation; Certificates of Appointment of Succeeding Estate Trustee; Resealing or Ancillary Certificate of Appointment. Any Estate (for which an Application for Certificate of Appointment is required), where the value of the Estate is $50,000 or less, will no longer have to pay any Estate Administration Tax (EAT).   For all other Estates where the value of the Estate is over $50,000, no tax will be calculated on the first $50,000 but the tax remains at 1.5% for the value of assets reported over $50,000. The time for filing an Estate Information Return (“EIR”) is 180 days from the date of the grant of Certificate of Appointment. The time to file an amendment is 60 days. Probate applications are made in the jurisdiction (court location) where the deceased ordinarily resided.

Useful information about "Probate" Applications

  • "Estate trustee" means an executor or administrator who is in charge of dealing with the deceased's estate;
  • "Estate trustee during litigation" means an administrator appointed pending an action;
  • "Estate trustee with a will" means an executor or an administrator when there is a will;
  • "Estate trustee without a will" means an executor or an administrator when there is no will;
  • "Objection to issuing of certificate of appointment" means a caveat;

Certificates of appointment of estate trustee are granted by the Court where a person is named in the will as the Executor, or to the next of kin where there is no will, or to a Trust Company or other person willing to accept the role.

Certificates of Appointment of Estate Trustee During Litigation are issued to a Trust Company, or other who has agreed to act as an Estate Trustee During Litigation. The Certificates are obtained to access any property that the deceased held in his/her name only, and confers the authority of the court to financial institutions to release the assets to the named trustee under the Certificate of Appointment.

Most financial institutions require you to obtain a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee before they will release any assets in the deceased’s name. It is important to find out from the financial institution you are going to be dealing with before trying to gain access to the deceased’s property.

The Court Registrar can take up to six months after the application is made to issue you the Certificate, unless the application becomes contentious, and has to be put before a Judge in open court which may take even longer.

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