Wills, estates and family law in Canada: costs, documents and the 2026 rules

Planning an estate or sorting out the money after a separation in Canada comes down to four sets of costs: making the documents (a will and powers of attorney, or in Quebec a protection mandate), administering the estate (probate fees or tax, court filings, the executor's time and professional help), tax at death under the federal Income Tax Act, and, when a relationship ends, dividing family property and setting support. Almost every rule is provincial. Ontario charges estate administration tax of $15 per $1,000 above $50,000, British Columbia charges probate fees of up to $14 per $1,000, Alberta charges a flat court fee that tops out at $525, and Quebec charges no probate tax at all on a notarial will. The documents you sign today decide how much of that bill your family pays later.

This guide is the starting point for the Costs, Rules and 2026 Checks section. It is general information, not legal advice.

The documents that do the work

Document	What it does	Where it applies	Typical form
Will	Names an executor (estate trustee; liquidator in Quebec), says who gets what, can name guardians for minor children	All provinces	Typed and witnessed, handwritten (holograph) where allowed, or notarial in Quebec
Codicil	Amends an existing will without rewriting it	All provinces	Same formalities as a will
Continuing or enduring power of attorney for property	Lets someone manage your money if you lose capacity	Common-law provinces	Signed before two witnesses in Ontario
Power of attorney for personal care, personal directive or representation agreement	Lets someone make health and care decisions	Ontario, Alberta, BC respectively	Provincial forms and witnessing rules
Protection mandate	Covers both property and personal care in one document	Quebec	Notarial or before two witnesses; must be homologated before use
Beneficiary designations	Send RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, pensions and life insurance directly to a named person	All provinces (Quebec has limits for registered plans)	Plan form or the will
Marriage contract, cohabitation or separation agreement	Sets property and support terms between partners	All provinces	Written, signed and witnessed

The will is only one piece. Many estates are mostly made of assets that never pass through it: a house held jointly with a spouse, an RRSP with a named beneficiary, a life insurance policy. Those designations must match the will, or the plan falls apart. The detail for each province is in making a valid will by province and powers of attorney and the Quebec protection mandate.

What estate administration costs, by province

Probate is the court process that confirms the will and the executor's authority. Banks and land registries usually insist on it for larger assets. The provincial charge is the part people ask about most:

Province	Charge	Basis
Ontario	Estate administration tax: $0 on the first $50,000, then $15 per $1,000 or part	Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, for applications from 1 January 2020
British Columbia	$0 up to $25,000; $6 per $1,000 from $25,000 to $50,000; $14 per $1,000 above $50,000	Probate Fee Act s. 2
Alberta	Flat fee by net value of Alberta property: $35, $135, $275, $400, or $525 above $250,000	Surrogate court fees on alberta.ca
Quebec	No probate tax; a notarial will needs no probate; holograph and witnessed wills are verified by the court or a notary	Civil Code of Québec

Illustrative example. A $640,000 estate pays about $8,850 in Ontario, $8,410 in British Columbia, $525 in Alberta and nothing in tax in Quebec if the will is notarial. The full breakdown, with other provinces, is in probate fees by province in 2026, and you can run your own numbers in the Ontario estimator or the BC estimator.

The provincial charge is often smaller than the other costs: legal fees for the application, appraisals, accounting for the final tax returns, and the executor's compensation if the will or the court allows it. Hourly and flat-fee arrangements vary widely by firm and are not set by law, so ask for a written estimate.

Tax at death: the federal layer

Canada has no inheritance tax, but the Income Tax Act treats a person as having disposed of capital property at fair market value immediately before death. Gains on a cottage, shares or a rental property are taxed on the final return. RRSPs and RRIFs are generally included in income in full, unless they roll to a spouse or common-law partner or a qualifying dependant. A principal residence can usually be sheltered by the principal residence exemption. The final return is due on 30 April of the following year for deaths from January to October, or six months after death for deaths in November or December. The guide on the final tax return and RRSPs at death works through the numbers.

Separation: property and support

When spouses separate, each province applies its own property regime:

Ontario uses equalization: married spouses compare their net family properties and the spouse with more pays half the difference. Common-law partners have no equalization right.
British Columbia divides family property equally between married spouses and unmarried partners who lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years.
Alberta's Family Property Act covers married spouses and adult interdependent partners.
Quebec has the family patrimony for married and civil union spouses, and since 30 June 2025 a parental union patrimony for de facto couples whose common child is born on or after that date.

Child support follows the Federal Child Support Guidelines and their tables, which were updated on 1 October 2025, except in Quebec, which has its own model. Spousal support is shaped by the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines, which are advisory, not law. See family property division and the 2025 child support tables.

The 2026 checks worth doing

Ontario wills made before 2022. Marriage no longer revokes a will in Ontario for marriages from 1 January 2022, and certain separated spouses now lose their gifts. Read Ontario's 2022 will changes.
Intestacy shares. Ontario's spousal preferential share is $350,000 for deaths on or after 1 March 2021; BC's is $300,000 or $150,000. See intestacy rules by province.
Ontario beneficiary designations. Since 11 December 2025, an attorney under a continuing power of attorney for property can re-make an existing beneficiary designation when a plan is converted or transferred (for example, RRSP to RRIF), and designations can be made electronically (SLRA s. 51).
Child support orders. Orders made before 1 October 2025 do not update automatically.

When to see a lawyer or notary

Get professional help if you own a business or property in more than one province, have children from more than one relationship, want to leave money to a minor or to someone with a disability, expect a family member to challenge the will, or are separating with a pension, a business or a disputed home. In Quebec, a notary can prepare a notarial will and a protection mandate and handle many non-contentious estate steps.

FAQ

Is a will from another province valid if I move?

Generally yes, if it was valid where it was made, but the new province's rules on spouses, intestacy and probate will apply to your estate. Review it after a move, especially to or from Quebec.

How long does probate take?

It depends on the court's workload, the completeness of the application and whether anyone objects. Simple applications often take weeks to a few months; contested estates can take years.

Can I avoid probate completely?

Sometimes, through joint ownership, beneficiary designations or, in Quebec, a notarial will. Each strategy has risks; see probate avoidance and its risks.

Do common-law partners inherit without a will?

Not in Ontario. BC and Alberta include qualifying unmarried partners; Quebec de facto spouses do not inherit without a will unless they are in a parental union (child born on or after 30 June 2025, or opted in). See the rights of common-law couples.

Sources

Ontario e-Laws — Succession Law Reform Act, Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, Family Law Act, Substitute Decisions Act, 1992
BC Laws — Wills, Estates and Succession Act, Probate Fee Act, Family Law Act
Government of Alberta — surrogate court fees, wills and estates information
Éducaloi — Quebec wills, protection mandates, family patrimony and parental union
Canada Revenue Agency — doing taxes for someone who died
Department of Justice Canada — Federal Child Support Guidelines and tables