Estate Administration Resources
Here are some additional resources to help you with the process of Estate Planning and Estate Administration.
Common Estate Terms
Beneficiary: a person or organization entitled to benefit under the Will.
Bequest, Legacy or Devise: a disposition of personal property under the terms of the Will.
Codicil: an addition or amendment to a Will.
Estate:includes everything owned by a person who has died.
Estate Administrator: the person appointed by the court to handle the affairs of the deceased.
Executor, Executrix, Estate Trustee: person named in a Will and legally charged with carrying out its provisions.
Guardian: a person or trust company appointed by the court to care for the property of a child.
Holographic Will: a Will written entirely in the handwriting of the testator and not witnessed.
Inter Vivos Trust: a trust created to take effect during the lifetime of the creator of the trust.
Intestate: describes someone who dies without leaving a Will.
Issue: descendants of a person, including not only children but grandchildren, great-grandchildren and more remote descendants.
Probate: the legal process of proving that a Will is valid and gives power to the Executor to administer and distribute it.
Power of Attorney (for property and/or care): a written authorization to represent or act on another’s behalf.
Residual Beneficiary: the beneficiary to whom the residue of the estate is left.
Residue: the assets remaining in an estate after all of the debts of the testator and the specific bequests in the Will have been satisfied.
Testamentary Capacity: the ability to know and understand the action of making a Will, the nature and extent of property which constitutes the estate, and who should and will benefit under the Will.
Testamentary Trust: a trust created by a Will.
Testate: describes someone who has died leaving a Will.
Testator, Testatrix: the person who makes a Will.
Trust: an interest in property held legally by one person for the benefit of another.
Trustee: one who manages property or money for another.
Will: the legal statement of a person’s wishes regarding the disposal of their property after death.
Provincial Resources
Alberta
Court of the Queen’s Bench – Frequently asked questions
British Columbia
Ministry of Justice – Wills and Estates
About Wills and Estates
Manitoba
Applying for Probate
New Brunswick
Public Legal Education and Information services – Wills and Estate Planning
New Brunswick Probate Court – Frequently Asked Questions
Newfoundland and Labrador
Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador – Wills, Estates and Guardianship
Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland and Labrador – Probate Booklet
Northwest Territories
Questions and Answers About Wills
Nova Scotia
What to do When Someone Dies
Probate Court of Nova Scotia – Frequently Asked Questions
Ontario
Ministry of the Attorney General
What to do When Someone Dies
Prince Edward Island
Community Legal Association of Prince Edward Island – Information for Executors
Community Legal Association of Prince Edward Island – Information for Administrators
Government of Prince Edward Island – Probating a Will
Saskatchewan
Courts of Saskatchewan – Wills and Estates
Public Legal Education Association
Yukon Territory
Public Guardian and Trustee – What is Probate?
Public Guardian and Trustee – Your Role as an Executor
Public Guardian and Trustee – Closing an Estate
Canada Revenue Agency
What to do When Someone has Died
Senior Advocacy
Government of Canada – Provincial Resources for Elder Abuse
Legal
Law Society of Upper Canada – Legal Referral Service in Ontario
Legal Information for Low Income Seniors (ACE)
Canadian Estates Law Blogs
Estate Debate
All About Estates
Estate Law Canada
Toronto Estate Law Blog
Toronto Estate Monitor
Whaley Estate Litigation Blog
Your Estate Matters Blog