{"id":308747,"date":"2025-11-26T19:48:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T19:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/308747\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T19:48:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T19:48:17","slug":"new-guidelines-create-process-for-expedited-probate-applications-in-ontario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/308747\/","title":{"rendered":"New guidelines create process for expedited probate applications in Ontario"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A new estate procedures manual in Ontario outlines how to make the case for an expedited probate review.Andrii Yalanskyi\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

In Ontario, new guidelines in the updated Estates Court Staff Procedures Manual may eventually lead to faster handling of certain probate applications. <\/p>\n

The manual, released last week, outlines how to make the case for an expedited review, says Jordan Atin, counsel and trusts and estates practitioner at Hull and Hull LLP in Toronto.<\/p>\n

Applying for probate, which is the legal process of validating a will and granting the executor authority to administer an estate, can sometimes take months. In Ontario, probate fees are 1.5 per cent of an estate\u2019s value of more than $50,000.<\/p>\n

Globe Advisor spoke with Mr. Atin recently about the process of applying for probate and what\u2019s set to change.<\/p>\n

Why does probate matter in an estate?<\/p>\n

Probate is required to deal with many aspects of an estate. Third parties won\u2019t deal with the executor without proof that the will is valid. Banks won\u2019t release information. You can\u2019t close a real estate transaction. In some places, it takes six months to get that certificate.<\/p>\n

How do things currently work with getting a certificate of appointment for probate?<\/p>\n

Historically, there was no specific rule for expediting a probate application. Basically, probate applications go in and, presumably, they\u2019re processed in the order they come in, and you\u2019re left waiting. Toronto has a lot of volume; at one point, it took eight to 10 months to get probate.<\/p>\n

How would things work if the person wants the probate expedited?<\/p>\n

The manual offers a procedure for any time you think the probate application should be expedited. You submit the application with a written request that it be reviewed by a judge. You include supporting materials. While the manual\u2019s procedures are not binding, they inform on what a judge might want.<\/p>\n

What sort of estates may qualify for this?<\/p>\n

It might be around 10 per cent of applications that would qualify for this expedited issuance.<\/p>\n

The manual says cases in which immediate and significant legal or financial repercussions may result if the probate application is not processed in a timely manner may be expedited. It gives a couple of examples, such as completing a real estate transaction.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say someone had entered into an agreement to purchase a property. He dies, but now the closing is coming up, and the heirs can\u2019t close the deal. <\/p>\n

Another example is an estate litigator who needs to prosecute a claim. The only person who can prosecute a claim is an executor under probate. They might have a limitation that\u2019s expiring and can\u2019t wait six months to bring this claim.<\/p>\n

What about situations in which there\u2019s no estate trustee because of dying intestate?<\/p>\n

Yes, [the expedited probate] may be applicable to that situation. That\u2019s even worse because until there\u2019s a court appointment of an estate trustee, there\u2019s nobody who has authority to deal with anything.<\/p>\n

As you point out, this is a guideline, not legislation. Will the judges actually do this?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to find out what judges do with this [new guideline]. It\u2019s not a particular rule that\u2019s legislated, but we might get some endorsement from judges who consider these applications for an expedited issuance. This is new territory.<\/p>\n

Anything that speeds up probate is a good thing. At least we now have a formal method for how to get an expedited issuance of probate. Before, we didn\u2019t have any idea of how to do it.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A new estate procedures manual in Ontario outlines how to make the case…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1397,45,49,48,133,5266,2922,131,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-308747","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-appwebview","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-finance","13":"tag-globe-advisor","14":"tag-noastack","15":"tag-personal-finance","16":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}