Estate Words, in Plain English

Estate law has a vocabulary all its own. Here's what the words mean, without the legalese.

Last reviewed: October 2026

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Administrator: An older word for an estate trustee appointed by the court when there's no will.

Beneficiary: A person or charity who receives something from an estate, a life insurance policy or a registered account.
Bequest: A gift of a specific item or amount of money in a will.
Bond: A kind of insurance policy a court may require an estate trustee to get, to protect creditors and beneficiaries.

Capital gain: The increase in an asset's value since it was bought. At death, most capital gains are taxed as if the asset had been sold.
Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee: Ontario's court document confirming who has the authority to deal with an estate. It's what most people mean by "probate".
Clearance certificate: A certificate from the Canada Revenue Agency confirming that all taxes owed by the person and the estate have been paid. It protects the executor.
Codicil: A document that changes part of an existing will.
Common-law partner: Someone living with a partner in a marriage-like relationship without being legally married. Different laws define it differently, so check which definition applies.
Creditor insurance: Insurance sold by a lender, on a mortgage, loan or credit card, that pays off the balance if the borrower dies.

Deemed disposition: The tax rule that treats a person as if they sold their property at fair market value just before death.
Dependant support claim: A court application by someone the person supported, or was required to support, asking for support from the estate.

Equalization election: A surviving married spouse's choice, under Ontario's Family Law Act, to claim an equalization of family property instead of what the will or the intestacy rules give them. Generally due within six months of the death.
Estate: Everything a person owned at death that passes under their will, or under the law if there's no will.
Estate Administration Tax: Ontario's tax on the value of an estate when probate is granted. Often called probate fees.
Estate Information Return: A form the estate trustee files with Ontario's Ministry of Finance, listing the estate's assets, within 180 days after the probate certificate is issued.
Estate trustee: Ontario's legal term for an executor or administrator: the person in charge of the estate.
Executor: The person named in a will to settle the estate.
Executor's year: The traditional one-year period an executor is given to wrap up an estate before beneficiaries can press for their share.

Final return: The person's last personal income tax return, covering January 1 to the date of death. Also called the terminal return.

Graduated rate estate: An estate's special tax status, usually for up to 36 months after death, that lets it pay tax at graduated rates.

Holograph will: A will written entirely in the person's own handwriting and signed by them. It can be valid in Ontario without witnesses.

Joint tenancy (with right of survivorship): Joint ownership where, when one owner dies, their share passes automatically to the surviving owner, outside the estate.

Net family property: Under Ontario family law, roughly what a married spouse built up during the marriage. It's used to calculate equalization.
Notarial copy: A copy of a document certified as a true copy by a notary or lawyer. Often accepted in place of an original.

Power of attorney for personal care: A document naming someone to make health and personal care decisions for you if you can't. It ends at death.
Power of attorney for property: A document naming someone to manage your money and property if you can't (or sooner, if you choose). It ends at death.
Preferential share: In Ontario, the first $350,000 of an estate that goes to a married spouse when someone dies without a will (for deaths on or after March 1, 2021).
Principal residence exemption: A tax rule that can shelter the gain on a home that was the owner's principal residence.
Probate: The court process confirming a will and the estate trustee's authority. In Ontario, the result is a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee.

Release: A document a beneficiary signs approving the executor's accounts and confirming they've received their share.
Renounce: To formally decline to act as an executor.
Residue: Whatever is left in an estate after debts, taxes, expenses and specific gifts are paid.
Rollover: A tax rule that lets certain assets, such as an RRSP, pass to a spouse or common-law partner without immediate tax.

Small Estate Certificate: Ontario's simpler probate document for estates worth $150,000 or less.
Successor annuitant or successor holder: A spouse or common-law partner who takes over a RRIF (as successor annuitant) or a TFSA (as successor holder) directly when the owner dies.

T3 return: The tax return for an estate or trust, used for income earned after the date of death.
Tenancy in common: Joint ownership where each owner's share goes through their own estate when they die.
Testator: The person who made the will.
Trust: An arrangement where someone (the trustee) manages property for someone else (the beneficiaries). Wills often set up trusts for children.

Will: A legal document that says who gets what, who's in charge and who cares for young children after you die.

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