Final expense insurance in Ontario
Settling an estate costs money before the estate pays anything out. Probate is the visible part of that, and in Ontario it is charged on the value of the estate and is generally payable when the application is filed, which is before anyone has received a penny.
What the work covers, line by line
- What settling actually costs
- Estate administration tax, the funeral, and the ordinary bills that keep arriving while an estate is in probate. Totalled from your own figures rather than an average.
- Where the money comes from
- Whether the estate holds anything liquid enough to pay those costs on time, or whether the family would be selling something to raise it. That question is the whole point of this planning.
- Coverage that arrives when it is needed
- Cover sized to the settling cost rather than to income, so the people handling the estate are not funding it personally while they wait.
- Kept current
- The cost of settling moves with the value of the estate. It is reviewed as that changes rather than set once.
Who plans for the settling cost
- Seniors who want the cost handled rather than left to family
- Anyone whose estate is mostly a house and little cash
- Executors who have already been through it once
- Families who have watched a settlement drag and do not want a repeat
About probate, and what it costs to settle
What does probate cost in Ontario?
Estate administration tax is nil on the first $50,000 of the estate, then $15 for every $1,000 above that. On an $800,000 estate that is $11,250, and it is generally payable when the application is filed, before the estate is distributed.
Can probate be avoided?
Parts of an estate can pass outside it, and that is a legal question about how assets are held and designated. It is worked through with your lawyer. The planning side is making sure the tax that does apply can be paid without forcing a sale.
Is this the same as a funeral plan?
No. A funeral is one cost among several. This is about the whole cost of settling: the tax, the professional fees and the bills that carry on arriving while the estate is being dealt with.
Ehsan Khandaker is a licensed financial and estate planner, CLU and CHS. He is not a lawyer and does not draft documents. This page is general information about Ontario rules, not guidance about your own situation, and a will is drawn up by a lawyer.
The number is knowable. Most families have never been shown it.