To avoid paying Ontario's Estate Administration Tax ($15 per $1,000 for estate values over $ 50 , 000 $ 5 0 , 0 0 0 ), residents can use joint ownership with right of survivorship for assets, name direct beneficiaries on registered plans (RRSPs, TFSAs, insurance), gift assets before death, use multiple wills to separate private company shares, or establish inter-vivos trusts.
How to reduce probate fees
To Save Money
Because probate can be a drawn-out legal process, it can also be expensive. Avoiding probate helps you save money by: Saving on attorney and court fees. A probate attorney can help ensure the most positive outcome from probate proceedings, but you do have to pay for those legal services.
Use our updated for 2025 Ontario probate fees calculator to estimate your official probate costs accurately. For estates valued up to $50,000, there is no probate fee. For estates valued over $50,000, the probate fee is $15 per $1,000 (1.5%) on the portion exceeding $50,000.
You can apply for probate yourself online or by post. This can be cheaper than paying a probate practitioner (such as a solicitor) to apply for you.
The most robust method for distributing assets to your intended beneficiaries without requiring probate is by creating a revocable living trust. This type of trust allows you to maintain total control over your assets while you are alive and well.
How to avoid probate in Ontario
Attorney fees for probate proceedings, accountant fees for preparing tax returns, executor fees, property management costs, and appraisal fees all qualify. These deductions appear on line 15 of Form 1041, and importantly, they're not subject to that frustrating 2% AGI limitation that individual returns face.
There are no true inheritance taxes in Ontario. In other words, there are no taxes that a person who inherits from an estate must pay. Beneficiaries do not pay tax on the money they inherit from an estate.
To avoid probate, use tools like living trusts, establish joint ownership with rights of survivorship, and name beneficiaries on assets with Payable-on-Death (POD), Transfer-on-Death (TOD), or beneficiary designations for accounts, investments, and real estate (like TOD deeds). These strategies transfer assets directly to heirs, bypassing the public, time-consuming court process of probate.
This is a legal document which gives you the authority to share out the estate of the person who has died according to the instructions in the will. You do not always need probate to be able to deal with the estate. If you've been named in a will as an executor, you don't have to act if you don't want to.
Assets exempt from probate typically include those with named beneficiaries (life insurance, retirement accounts), jointly owned property with rights of survivorship, assets held in a living trust, and sometimes specific items like homestead property or a certain value of vehicles/household goods, depending on state law, allowing direct transfer to heirs without court involvement.
Probate is not always required in order to administer an estate. The type of assets in the estate usually determine whether an estate should be probated. If the deceased owned real property or assets held by a financial institution, the estate normally has to be probated.
The three year rule affects certain gifts and transfers made within three years of death. Here's a straightforward breakdown: If you transfer certain assets or give up control over them within three years of your death, those assets might be included in your estate for tax purposes.
5 Reasons to Avoid Probate — and How to Do It
Assets that are not subject to probate in Ontario include:
Assets that were held jointly (there are exceptions) CPP death benefit. RPPs, RRSPs, RRIFs, and TFSAs with a beneficiary designation or beneficiary declaration. RDSPs to which the deceased subscribed to but was not a beneficiary.
How Can an Executor Reduce Probate Costs?
Here are the most common drawbacks:
Want to make your assets virtually untouchable by creditors and lawsuits? Equity stripping may be the answer. This advanced technique involves encumbering your assets with liens or mortgages held by friendly creditors, such as an LLC or trust you control.
To avoid probate, use tools like living trusts, establish joint ownership with rights of survivorship, and name beneficiaries on assets with Payable-on-Death (POD), Transfer-on-Death (TOD), or beneficiary designations for accounts, investments, and real estate (like TOD deeds). These strategies transfer assets directly to heirs, bypassing the public, time-consuming court process of probate.