Ontario Probate Fees: Avoidance Strategies, Multiple Wills, and the Cross-Border Layer

Ontario’s estate administration tax charges 1.5% on every dollar of estate value above $50,000. On a $2 million estate, that’s roughly $29,000 paid to the province before a single beneficiary sees a cent. No other province comes close to that rate at scale. The tax hits assets that pass through probate, which means the executor needs a certificate of appointment of estate trustee and the province takes its percentage of the estate’s value on the way through. But “assets that pass through probate” is a narrower set than “everything the deceased owned,” and the gap between those two categories is where the planning lives.

This guide covers the fee structure, the five main strategies for reducing or eliminating the bill, and the cross-border complication that catches US-connected Canadians off guard: probate avoidance in Ontario doesn’t necessarily mean estate tax avoidance in the US, and some probate-avoidance structures create US compliance obligations that cost more annually than the probate fee they saved.

How does Ontario’s probate fee work?

Ontario calls it “estate administration tax” and charges it when the estate trustee applies for a certificate of appointment. The rate is $5 per $1,000 on the first $50,000 of estate value, plus $15 per $1,000 on everything above $50,000. The effective rate on a large estate converges to 1.5%.

The fee is calculated on the total value of the deceased’s assets that form part of the estate for probate purposes. That includes real property in Ontario, bank accounts held solely in the deceased’s name, investment accounts without a named beneficiary, personal property, and business interests. It does not include assets that pass outside the estate by operation of law or by contract: jointly held property with right of survivorship, insurance policies and registered accounts with designated beneficiaries, and assets held in trust.

“The amount of the estate administration tax payable is based on the value of the estate, determined by the estate certificate. The tax is $5 for each $1,000 or part thereof of the first $50,000 of the value of the estate and $15 for each $1,000 or part thereof by which the value of the estate exceeds $50,000.” Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 34, Sched, s. 2(1)

The math is straightforward. A $500,000 estate pays $250 on the first $50,000 plus $6,750 on the remaining $450,000, totalling $7,000. A $1 million estate pays about $14,250. A $3 million estate pays about $44,250. And a $5 million estate, which is common when Ontario real estate is involved, pays roughly $74,250.

Since 2015, the estate trustee must also file an Estate Information Return (Form 9844) with the Ministry of Finance within 90 days after the certificate of appointment is issued. The return requires a detailed listing of every asset and its value. The ministry can (and does) audit these returns, and understatement of estate value carries penalties.

Why are Ontario’s fees the highest in Canada?

Every province except Quebec charges probate fees, but the rates vary enormously. Ontario’s 1.5% rate on amounts over $50,000 competes only with Nova Scotia’s 1.695% for the title of most expensive. British Columbia is close at 1.4% above $50,000. But Alberta caps its fee at $525 total, regardless of estate size. Quebec charges nothing for notarial wills. The practical result is that a $2 million estate in Ontario pays roughly $29,000 in probate fees, while the same estate in Alberta pays $525 and in Quebec pays nothing.

This disparity is why probate avoidance planning concentrates in Ontario and British Columbia. The savings are large enough to justify the cost and complexity of the avoidance structures. In Alberta, probate avoidance is rarely worth the effort.

What are multiple wills and how do they work?

The multiple wills strategy is Ontario’s signature probate-avoidance technique. It works because certain assets don’t require a certificate of appointment for the estate trustee to deal with them. If those assets are governed by a separate will that never goes through probate, no estate administration tax is payable on their value.

The structure uses two wills: a “primary” will covering assets that require probate (real estate, publicly traded securities held in the deceased’s name, bank accounts) and a “secondary” will covering assets that don’t (private company shares, personal effects, loans receivable from private entities, certain partnership interests, household contents). The primary will goes to court for a certificate of appointment. The secondary will does not.

The Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed the validity of multiple wills in Granovsky Estate v. Ontario, and the technique is widely used by estate planning lawyers in the province. The key requirements are that each will must be properly executed, each must clearly define which assets it governs, and neither will can revoke the other (a standard revocation clause in the primary will can accidentally destroy the secondary will if it’s not carefully drafted).

The savings depend on the value of assets in the secondary will. If a business owner holds $3 million in private company shares, moving those shares to a secondary will saves approximately $44,250 in probate fees (the 1.5% that would otherwise apply). For business owners with substantial private company holdings, this is often the single most effective probate-avoidance technique.

Can an alter ego trust avoid Ontario probate?

Yes. An alter ego trust (available to individuals 65 or older) allows the settlor to transfer assets into the trust during their lifetime. The settlor retains full use and benefit of the assets. On death, the trust assets pass to the named beneficiaries without going through the estate, so no probate fee applies to them.

Canada permits the transfer on a tax-deferred basis under ITA 73(1.01). The settlor is taxed on the trust’s income during their lifetime, and the deemed disposition occurs on the settlor’s death, not at the time of transfer. The trust must meet specific conditions: the settlor must be 65 or older at the time of creation, the settlor must be entitled to all income during their lifetime, and no one other than the settlor can receive capital during the settlor’s lifetime.

A joint partner trust works the same way for couples (one partner must be 65 or older). The surviving partner retains use of the trust assets, and the deemed disposition is deferred until the second death.

The cost of establishing and maintaining an alter ego trust (legal fees, annual tax filings for the trust) typically runs $3,000 to $5,000 upfront and $1,500 to $3,000 annually. The breakeven point depends on estate size, but for estates above roughly $500,000, the probate savings exceed the costs over a reasonable time horizon. For the differences between trust structures, see the comparison of revocable vs. irrevocable trusts in Canada.

Do beneficiary designations bypass probate?

Yes, and they’re the simplest mechanism available. When you name a beneficiary directly on an RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, or life insurance policy, the asset passes to that person by contract on your death. It never enters the estate and is never subject to probate fees.

For registered accounts, naming a spouse as beneficiary also produces a tax rollover: the RRSP or RRIF transfers to the spouse’s registered account without triggering income inclusion on the terminal return. Without a designation, the full value of the RRSP or RRIF is included in the deceased’s income for the year of death under ITA 146(8.8), and the account passes through the estate (attracting probate fees on the way).

Life insurance with a named beneficiary is doubly efficient: the death benefit bypasses probate and is received tax-free by the beneficiary. Many estate plans use life insurance specifically to provide liquidity, so the estate can pay the income tax from the deemed disposition without forcing a fire sale of assets, while the insurance proceeds themselves avoid both probate and income tax.

The limitation is that beneficiary designations work only for assets that accept them. You can’t name a beneficiary on a bank account, a brokerage account holding individual stocks, or real property. Those assets need one of the other strategies.

Does joint ownership avoid probate fees?

Joint ownership with right of survivorship passes assets directly to the surviving owner on death, outside of probate. This is commonly used for the family home (spouses hold title as joint tenants) and for bank accounts (joint accounts with a child or spouse). On the first death, the asset transfers by operation of law, no certificate of appointment is needed, and no probate fee is payable on that asset’s value.

The strategy works cleanly between spouses. Between a parent and an adult child, it’s more complicated. Adding a child to title on real property may trigger an immediate deemed disposition of 50% of the property if CRA treats the transfer as a change in beneficial ownership. Even if the parent intends the child’s name on title as a convenience (for probate avoidance only, with no change in beneficial ownership), the 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision in Pecore v. Pecore created a presumption that an adult child holds the asset beneficially, not as a trustee. The parent would need to document the contrary intention clearly.

Joint ownership also exposes the asset to the child’s creditors, matrimonial claims if the child divorces, and loss of the principal residence exemption if the child already owns a home. For real property, a family trust is often a safer probate-avoidance route than joint ownership with a child, though it comes with its own 21-year deemed disposition cycle and annual filing obligations.

How does US estate tax affect Ontario residents?

This is where probate planning gets more complex for anyone with a US connection. The US imposes an estate tax on two categories of people: US citizens and residents (taxed on worldwide assets, $15 million exemption for 2026, made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) and non-resident non-citizens with US-situs assets (taxed only on US-situs property, with a $60,000 exemption under IRC 2101).

US-situs assets include US real estate, shares of US corporations (including ETFs and mutual funds organized in the US), tangible personal property located in the US, and certain US debt obligations. A Canadian resident who owns a Florida condo, a US brokerage account holding Apple and Microsoft shares, or US-listed ETFs has US-situs assets.

The $60,000 exemption is deceptively small. It’s not $60,000 of gain; it’s $60,000 of fair market value. A Canadian who owns $500,000 of US stocks and a $400,000 Florida condo has $900,000 of US-situs assets. After the $60,000 exemption, $840,000 is potentially subject to US estate tax at rates that start at 18% and reach 40%. Without treaty relief, the tax on $840,000 would be approximately $275,000.

The Canada-US Tax Treaty, Article XXIX-B provides the relief mechanism. Paragraph 2 grants a Canadian resident an expanded unified credit that’s proportional to the ratio of US-situs assets to worldwide assets. Instead of the $60,000 exemption (which corresponds to a credit of $13,000), the treaty gives a credit equal to the full US citizen’s unified credit ($15 million equivalent) multiplied by the fraction (US-situs assets / worldwide assets). For a Canadian whose US assets represent 20% of their worldwide estate, the effective exemption is 20% of $15 million, or $3 million. This eliminates the US estate tax for most Canadians, but it requires filing Form 706-NA to claim the credit.

For a deeper treatment of the $60,000 exemption and the treaty mechanism, see the dedicated guide on US estate tax for Canadians.

Does probate avoidance in Ontario reduce US tax?

Not directly, and in some cases the structures create new US problems. The two tax systems operate independently and look at different things.

Ontario’s probate fee is a provincial charge on assets that pass through the estate. It’s triggered by the certificate of appointment process. US estate tax is a federal transfer tax on the value of property owned at death (for US-situs assets of non-residents). The US doesn’t care whether the asset went through Ontario probate. A Florida condo that’s held in an alter ego trust, avoiding Ontario probate entirely, is still US-situs real property includible in the gross estate for US estate tax purposes under IRC 2104.

In fact, some probate-avoidance structures create additional US complications. An alter ego trust is a foreign trust for US purposes. If the settlor is a US person (citizen, green card holder, or US resident), the trust triggers annual Form 3520-A reporting requirements. Even if the settlor is not a US person, the trust assets remain in the US gross estate under IRC 2036(a)(1) because the settlor retained beneficial enjoyment during their lifetime. The cross-border estate planning guide covers how these structures interact with US rules.

Joint ownership between spouses can also produce US complications. If one spouse is a US citizen and the other is not, the US “qualified joint interest” rules under IRC 2040(b) don’t apply. The general rule is that the entire value of jointly held property is included in the estate of the first to die, unless the estate can prove the survivor’s contribution. This is the opposite of the 50/50 split that Canadian law assumes.

The practical takeaway: don’t assume that a structure designed for Ontario probate avoidance automatically helps (or is even neutral) for US estate tax purposes. The two analyses need to happen together, especially if there’s a US-situs asset, a US person in the family, or a cross-border trust.

What about the Form 706-NA filing requirement?

Form 706-NA (United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return for estates of nonresidents not citizens of the United States) is required when a non-resident non-citizen dies owning US-situs assets, and the estate wants to claim the treaty-based expanded credit under Article XXIX-B. The form is due nine months after death, with a six-month extension available.

The form requires disclosure of the decedent’s worldwide assets (not just US-situs assets), because the treaty credit calculation is based on the ratio of US-situs assets to worldwide assets. This means the estate’s Canadian lawyer or accountant needs to provide a complete asset schedule to the US preparer. Many estates miss this filing entirely, either because the family doesn’t realize the US filing obligation exists or because they assume the treaty relief is automatic. It isn’t. The credit must be claimed on a timely filed return.

If the filing is missed, the IRS technically has no statute of limitations on assessment (the return was never filed), and the estate may owe US estate tax that could have been entirely eliminated by filing. The cost of preparing Form 706-NA (typically $2,000 to $5,000) is modest compared to the tax exposure.

Which strategy works best for your situation?

There’s no single answer. The right combination depends on the types of assets in the estate, the family structure, whether there’s a US connection, and the cost of implementing and maintaining each strategy.

Multiple wills are the most cost-effective solution for business owners with private company shares. The upfront cost is the legal fee for drafting two wills instead of one (typically $2,000 to $4,000 more than a single will). There’s no ongoing maintenance cost and no annual filing. The limitation is that they work only for assets that don’t require a certificate of appointment, which generally means private company shares, personal effects, and certain partnership interests.

Alter ego and joint partner trusts are broader in reach (they can hold any asset, including real property and public market investments) but more expensive to establish and maintain. They make sense for estates with a diversified asset base above roughly $1 million, where the cumulative probate savings over the settlor’s remaining lifetime exceed the setup and maintenance costs. The 65-and-older requirement limits when you can implement them.

Beneficiary designations should be reviewed and optimized in every estate plan, regardless of size. They’re free, immediate, and they produce both probate avoidance and (for registered accounts) income tax deferral when a spouse is the beneficiary.

Joint ownership works well between spouses for the family home but carries risks when used with children or non-spousal co-owners. The risks (deemed disposition, creditor exposure, loss of principal residence exemption) often outweigh the probate savings.

For anyone with a US connection, the planning has to account for both systems simultaneously. A structure that saves $30,000 in Ontario probate fees but creates a $5,000-per-year US trust reporting obligation (and potential penalties for non-compliance) may not be a net win. And any plan involving US-situs assets needs to include the Form 706-NA filing to claim the treaty credit.

The table below summarizes the tradeoffs:

Strategy	Assets covered	Upfront cost	Annual cost	US complications
Multiple wills	Private co. shares, personal property	$2,000-$4,000	None	None
Alter ego trust	Any asset	$3,000-$5,000	$1,500-$3,000	Foreign trust reporting if US person involved
Joint partner trust	Any asset (couples)	$3,000-$5,000	$1,500-$3,000	Same as alter ego
Beneficiary designations	RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, insurance	Free	None	None (for Canadian-situs accounts)
Joint ownership (spouse)	Real property, bank accounts	Minimal	None	IRC 2040 issues if one spouse is US citizen

Where should you start?

If you’re in Ontario and your estate is large enough that 1.5% is a meaningful number, start with the low-cost, low-risk moves. Review and update every beneficiary designation on every registered account and insurance policy. If you own a private company, ask your estate lawyer about a secondary will.

If you’re 65 or older and hold a diversified portfolio above $1 million, an alter ego trust or joint partner trust deserves a serious look. The annual cost is real, but on a $2 million portfolio, the probate savings alone are roughly $29,000, and the trust also avoids the delay, cost, and publicity of the probate process.

If you have any US connection, don’t plan in one country at a time. The cost of unwinding a structure that’s optimal for Ontario probate but creates US tax problems is always higher than getting the cross-border analysis right from the start. You need someone who understands both systems, because the Ontario estate lawyer and the US tax advisor are usually working from different playbooks.

• Family trusts in Canada, the trust structure used for estate planning and the 21-year rule
• Inheritance tax in Canada: what heirs actually pay, the deemed disposition and how probate fees fit the bigger picture
• Cross-border estate planning: freezes, alter ego, and bypass trusts, advanced planning when both countries are in play
• Revocable vs. irrevocable trusts in Canada, comparing trust types for estate planning
• US estate tax for Canadians: the $60,000 exemption, the treaty mechanism and Form 706-NA
• Joint tenancy (JTWROS) across the border, the gift tax and estate tax traps in joint ownership when a US person is on title

This guide is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Which points apply, and how, depends on your facts.