Estate Costs

Probate Planning To Minimize Estate Costs
Mon, Sep 14, 2009 12:00 AM EST

What is Probate?

When an individual dies intestate, the person's estate is divided among that person's relatives, and where there are no relatives, the entire estate falls to the government. Where there is a Will, all authority and property rights are governed by that Will and it takes effect upon the moment of death.

In principle, a properly drawn Will requires no further act to justify its legal existence. However, as a result of the often secretive nature of Wills, and the fact that the deceased is no longer available to verify the terms of his or her Will, third parties, such as financial institutions and land registry offices, will often require a higher level of certainty when dealing with the property of a deceased person. This certainty is provided through a process traditionally referred to as "probate", now called a "certificate of appointment of estate trustee". The process involves submitting the Will to the courts for verification. If there is no Will, the courts must appoint an individual called an "estate trustee without a will". With applications to the courts, both with or without a Will, it is necessary to pay the required court fees commonly known as "probate fees". With the exception of assets that were held jointly with a right of survivorship, court fees are calculated on the value of all personal property owned by a deceased anywhere in the world and all real property situated within the province. The basis for calculating the fees varies from province to province. In Ontario, the rate is calculated as $5 per $1000 of the first $50,000 of the estate and $15 per 1000 for the value of an estate over $50,000. It works out to approximately 1.5 percent.

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Posted by Chris Keeler