The First 90 Days After a Death — Executor Priorities in Canada

A 58-year-old Toronto man names his older brother as executor and dies suddenly of a heart attack on a Tuesday. By Friday, the brother is the person every bank, insurance company, funeral home, employer, landlord, and government office wants to talk to. By the following Monday he has fielded 17 phone calls, signed three documents whose purpose he does not fully understand, and authorized a funeral spend of about $11,000. He has been an executor for six days, and he has not yet read the will.

This is the normal opening pace of a Canadian executor role, and the next 90 days set the tone for the entire administration. Move too fast and you commit to decisions you cannot easily reverse; move too slow and you miss deadlines that cost the estate money. This guide walks through what actually needs to happen in the first three months, with concrete priorities by week. For the full administration arc, see our pillar on what an executor does in Canada.

Week 1 — death, funeral, and the will #

The first week is logistical. The order of operations:

Get the death certificate from the funeral director. The funeral home arranges the legal pronouncement, files the registration of death with the province, and orders the first batch of certified death certificates. Ask for 10 to 15 originals — every institution will want one, and re-orders take weeks.

Do not assume the photocopy on the kitchen counter is the original — courts almost always require the original for probate.

Arrange the funeral. The will may direct cremation, burial, or specific arrangements. Within reason the executor authorizes funeral spending from estate assets even before probate — banks will release funds up to a few thousand dollars for funeral expenses on production of a copy of the death certificate and the invoice. Funerals in Canada generally run $3,000 to $15,000 depending on cremation versus burial and the service style.

Secure the home. Change the locks if non-family members had access. Move valuables (jewellery, cash, important papers, firearms) to a secure location. Verify the home insurance policy stays current — most policies have vacancy clauses that limit coverage after 30 to 60 days of vacancy, and the executor needs to either keep someone in the home or move to a vacant-home rider.

Notify the next of kin and the beneficiaries. The executor's first communication with beneficiaries sets the tone. State that you have been named executor, confirm the original will is in hand, and explain you will provide a detailed timeline within the next few weeks.

Weeks 2 to 4 — notifications and the inventory #

The second and third weeks shift from immediate logistics to systematic notification and inventory work.

Notify the institutions the estate touches #

The standard notification list:

• Banks and credit unions. Provide a death certificate and a copy of the will. Each bank freezes accounts pending probate; joint accounts continue under the surviving holder.
• Brokerages and investment dealers. Same documentation; accounts freeze.
• Mortgage lender and any line of credit. The mortgage continues; the estate is responsible for payments until the property is dealt with.
• Insurance carriers (life, home, auto, disability). Life insurance with a named beneficiary pays out directly to the beneficiary on production of a claim form and death certificate — outside the estate, no probate needed.
• Employer and pension administrators. The employer may owe accrued salary, vacation pay, and benefits; the pension administrator handles survivor benefits.
• Landlord (if renting). Most provincial residential tenancies legislation gives the executor 30 to 60 days to either terminate the lease or assume it.
• Service Canada. Notify of the death to stop CPP and OAS, and apply for the CPP death benefit ($2,500 basic, up to $5,000 with the 2025 top-up) and any survivor benefits.^[1]
• CRA. Notify and provide the deceased's social insurance number.
• Provincial vital records and the health-card / driver's licence registry. Cancel the health card, driver's licence, and provincial benefits.
• Utilities, subscriptions, recurring payments. Cancel or transfer.
• Canada Post mail forwarding. Redirect the deceased's mail to the executor's address for 6 to 12 months.

Take the inventory #

Walk through the home and document every asset and debt with the date of death as the valuation date:

• Real estate (with a recent comparable-sales estimate; an appraisal can come later for probate)
• Bank and investment accounts (with statements showing balance on the date of death)
• RRSPs, TFSAs, RRIFs (note whether they have named beneficiaries — those flow outside the estate)
• Life insurance policies (note named beneficiaries)
• Vehicles, boats, recreational equipment
• Business interests, partnership interests
• Personal property (general estimate; high-value items get appraised)
• Liabilities — mortgages, credit cards, loans, lines of credit, tax owing

The inventory is the foundation of the probate application and the final accounting. Three observations are worth pulling out — first, every figure needs a source document (a statement, an appraisal, a paid invoice); second, beneficiary-designated accounts (RRSPs/TFSAs with named beneficiaries, life insurance) are usually outside the probate estate and are reported separately; third, the inventory is going to evolve as institutions report back — build a spreadsheet that you can update.

Weeks 4 to 8 — opening the estate file and starting probate #

By the end of the first month, the executor should be moving from notification to active administration.

Open the estate bank account #

Once you have a certificate of appointment in hand (or, in a small estate, once the bank's small-estate procedure is satisfied), open an estate bank account in the form "The Estate of [Deceased Name], by [Executor Name] as executor." All estate income flows in, all estate expenses flow out. Do not commingle estate money with personal money — this is the single most common executor error in Canada.

File for probate #

Prepare and submit the probate application to the provincial court. Each province has a slightly different form set, but the core inputs are consistent — the original will, the inventory and valuation of assets, the death certificate, the executor's identity and contact information, and the probate-fee payment (which varies dramatically by province; Ontario charges roughly 1.5% of the estate value above $50,000, while Manitoba charges nothing).^[3]

Use our probate fee calculator for a province-by-province estimate of what the application will cost.

Engage the professionals you need #

• A probate lawyer, if the will is contested, the estate has a foreign or business component, or the executor is uncertain about the process. Most lawyers do probates on either a fixed fee (small clean estates) or hourly with a fee estimate up front.
• An accountant for the deceased's final T1 return and any T3 trust returns the estate will need to file. The final T1 is due April 30 of the year following death, or six months after the date of death, whichever is later.^[5]
• A real-estate agent if the home is to be sold, or a property manager if it is to be rented.

Weeks 8 to 12 — the runway to probate #

By weeks 8 through 12, the probate application is filed (or close to it), the inventory is largely complete, and the executor is moving into the long middle phase of the administration. The week-12 mark is the natural time to check in with beneficiaries and provide a written status update — current inventory, anticipated probate timeline, next steps. A short status memo every 60 days throughout the rest of administration sharply reduces beneficiary complaints.

Cancel or transfer #

By week 12 the executor should have cancelled or transferred:

• The deceased's health card, driver's licence, and passport.
• Recurring subscriptions, memberships, and utilities (or transferred them to the next responsible person).
• Credit cards, leaving only any account the estate still needs for ongoing expenses.
• Service Canada-administered benefits (CPP, OAS, GIS).

Stop or apply for the right benefits #

For survivors and dependants, apply for what is owed:

• CPP death benefit (a one-time lump-sum payment — a basic $2,500, up to $5,000 with the 2025 top-up — to the estate or eligible recipient).
• CPP survivor's pension (for an eligible surviving spouse or common-law partner).
• CPP children's benefit (for dependent children under 18, or under 25 if in full-time school).
• Any private pension survivor benefits or group life insurance through the deceased's employer.

For more on government benefits at death, see cancelling government benefits at death.

What you do not need to do in 90 days #

A few items that often feel urgent but are not:

• Distribute to beneficiaries. Premature distribution before debts and taxes are sorted exposes the executor to personal liability. The clearance certificate from CRA is the gating step, and it usually comes 9 to 14 months in.
• Sell the home immediately. Unless the home is in a falling market or has significant carrying costs, holding it through probate is usually fine. A vacant-home insurance rider plus minimal upkeep is sufficient.
• Resolve disputes with beneficiaries. Communication yes, definitive resolution no. The dispute landscape often shifts after probate.
• File the final T1 immediately. The deadline is April 30 of the year after death, or six months after death — whichever is later. Filing earlier than needed wastes work if assets surface late.

What separates a smooth first 90 days from a rocky one #

Three habits separate executors who get to month four in good shape from those who do not:

A single source of truth. A spreadsheet or document tracking every asset, every liability, every contact made, and every dollar received or spent. Updated weekly. The estate's records are also the executor's defence against future complaints.

Communication on a schedule. A status note to beneficiaries every 60 days. A short call with the deceased's lawyer or accountant when key decisions come up. Silent executors get sued; communicative executors usually do not.

Saying no to non-urgent decisions. The first 90 days are not the time to liquidate the cottage, sell the family business, or settle disputed bequests. Park anything non-urgent until the probate certificate is in hand and the picture is clearer.

For the next stretch of administration, see the first year of estate administration.

What we focus on at It's Simple Will #

The clearer the will and the more complete the supporting documents, the easier the first 90 days run for whoever you have named. Our app builds the will, and the Life Discovery Kit gives your executor a guided way to record where the assets, accounts, passwords, and key documents are — the single biggest accelerator of the first three months. Build the documents now at app.itssimplewill.ca, and pair them with the executor checklist so your executor can hit the ground running when the time comes.