Settling an estate

As the executor, you'll need to get the following:

• Death certificate or copy of the act of death from the Directeur de l'état civil External link.. The documents are usually required to terminate registration in programs or request benefits from the government, financial institutions and other organizations.
• Other documents may also be necessary or useful, such as the deceased's marriage or civil union contract, decree of separation, decree of divorce, dissolution of civil union, or life insurance policy.

Only the deceased's last will has legal value. You'll need to check to see whether the deceased had one. You can search all registered wills in the Registre des dispositions testamentaires et des mandats (register of wills and mandates) through:

• The Barreau du Québec External link. (site in French only)
• The Chambre des notaires du Québec External link.

Holograph will

Holograph wills (wills handwritten by the deceased without witnesses) and wills made before witnesses must be verified by the Superior Court of Quebec or a notary.

No will

If the deceased didn't have a will, the estate is distributed according to the law.

You'll need to identify the heirs and contact them. There are 4 possible scenarios:

When there's no will
In the absence of a will, it's the Civil Code of Québec that determines the heirs. The law stipulates the terms and conditions of the distribution of the deceased's estate by prioritizing people based on their degree of relationship to the deceased.

When there's a notarial will
The only heirs are the people designated in the will.

When there's a will made in the presence of witnesses or a holograph will
Once the validity of the will has been legally recognized, only the persons designated in the will are recognized as heirs.

When there's a testamentary clause and no subsequent will
Testamentary clauses included in marriage or civil union contracts make the spouse the sole heir of the deceased's property. The clause has the same legal force as a notarial will. In this case, the only heir is the married or civil union spouse.

An inventory of the deceased's property is made to determine if the deceased's total debts exceed their total assets. To do so, you need to calculate the deceased's total assets (such as RRSPs, RRIFs, LIFs or pension fund), personal property and real estate. Once the inventory is complete, you'll need to determine the assets' market values.

You'll need to open an account in the name of the estate. Most financial institutions will require you to provide the following:

• Copy of the act of death issued by the Directeur de l'état civil
• Notarial will or testamentary provision, verified holograph will, verified will made in the presence of witnesses or declaration of heredity
• Will search certificates

You'll need to notify the government and the deceased's service providers to:

• Close the deceased's accounts (such as hydro, phone, internet and bank) and cancel their ID and cards (driver's licence and credit cards)
• Stop the payment of any benefits to the deceased

Following a death, several allowances and benefits can be claimed from governments, employers and creditors, such as:

• Work-related death benefit
• Traffic accident death benefit
• Death benefit and surviving spouse's pension
• Employment benefits
• Life insurance benefits

You can inform the surviving spouse or any other designated beneficiary (of life insurance, RRSPs, group pension plan or pension fund) of the opportunity to apply for and obtain related death benefits.

To see if the deceased had life insurance with us, call us at 1-866-838-7661 This link opens your phone app..

You need to file the deceased's provincial and federal income tax returns and specify that you're filing them for a deceased person. Make sure to respect the deadlines based on the date of death.

Learn more about filing a deceased person's provincial External link. and federal External link. income taxes.

You must also notify Revenue Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency of your intention to distribute the estate in order to obtain the certificates authorizing you to do so. To obtain the certificates, you must fill out the following forms:

• Notice Before Distribution of the Property of a Succession (MR-14.A – Revenu Québec) External link.
• Asking for a Clearance Certificate (TX19 – Canada Revenue Agency) External link.

Once you've completed the inventory of property, published the notice of closure of inventory and obtained the clearances, you need to settle the standard bills from service contracts such as electricity, phone and credit card bills. You also have to pay the legatees, who are persons designated to receive a gift under the terms of the will.

If the deceased is married or in a civil union at the time of their death, you need to:

• Divide the family patrimony
• Settle the matrimonial or civil union regime

Because specific rules apply to each situation, we recommend that you consult a legal advisor.

The executor's final account determines the estate's net assets or deficit. If stipulated in the will or requested by a majority of the heirs, the executor must include a proposal for partition in the final account. The proposal for partition determines the share of the inheritance that each heir will receive.

If the proposal is accepted by the heirs, you can then render an amicable account according to the terms of the will or the Civil Code of Québec if there isn't a will. If the proposal isn't accepted, the assets are distributed according to the provisions of the Civil Code.

Three notices must be published as part of the estate settlement process. The forms are available on the Registre des droits personnels et réels mobiliers website External link. (in French only):

Publish a notice of appointment of liquidator

The executor needs to register with the Register of personal and movable real rights (RDPRM) and the land register if property such as lots or buildings are part of the estate.

Notice of closure of inventory

This notice identifies the deceased and indicates where the estate inventory can be found. The notice of closure of inventory must be published in a newspaper distributed in the community of the deceased's last known address.

Notice of account closure by the liquidator

This notice lets people know where the final account can be consulted. The executor's mandate ends with the publication of this notice.