| Terms |
Definitions |
|---|
| Administrator | A person or institution appointed by a court to settle the proceeds of an estate, where the owner died without a valid will (intestate). |
| Affidavit | A written declaration or statement of facts, made voluntarily, and confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it. |
| Beneficiary | The person(s) named to benefit from or receive the property and/or assets held in an estate or trust. |
| Codicil | An amendment to a will. |
| Declaration of Heir(s) | A document issued before a notary public to declare the legal heir(s) and naming the liquidator(s) when there is no valid will. Applicable only in Quebec. |
| Declaration of Transmission | A document used to transfer ownership or dispose of assets held by a deceased person. Must be signed by an executor/executrix and sworn before a commissioner of oaths or notary public. |
| Estate | The property and/or assets of a deceased person. |
| Executor/Executrix | The person(s) or trust company appointed by a will to fulfill the functions of an executor/executrix in the administration of an estate. Also known as an "estate trustee" (Ontario) or "liquidator" (Quebec). The executor(s)/executrix(ices) or liquidator(s) cannot delegate his/her responsibilities to another person. |
| Heir(s) | The person(s) entitled to receive the property and/or assets if the deceased person died intestate. |
| Holograph Will | A will written entirely in the testator’s/testatrix’s own hand, and signed by the him/her with no witnesses. |
| Intestate/Intestacy | Dying without a will. Provincial laws govern the distribution of assets under intestacy. |
| Joint with Right of Survivorship | Ownership of property by two or more people in which the survivor(s) automatically gain ownership of the deceased’s interests. Not applicable in Quebec. |
| Letter of Administration | A document that appoints an administrator to settle the estate, issued by a court in cases where there is no valid will (intestacy). |
| Letter of Direction | An official letter providing instructions signed by the executor(s)/executrix(ices) or liquidator(s), directing a firm to take specific action on the deceased’s account(s). |
| Letters Probate | A legal document issued by a court confirming that a will is the last and valid will, and that the named executor(s)/executrix(ices) is/are the proper representative(s)/administrator(s) of the estate. In Ontario, this document is called a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee. |
| Liquidator | Formerly known as a "testamentary executor," a liquidator must be appointed to settle the succession whether or not there is a will. Applicable only in Quebec. |
| Notarial Will | A will prepared before a notary public in Quebec, where it is the most common form of will. A "certified true copy" is required, as the original remains in the notary public’s minutes. Notarial wills do not require probate; however, a research certificate from the Quebec bar and the Chamber of Notaries is required. |
| Probate | A probated will confirms that the will of the deceased is the last and valid will and appoints executor(s)/executrix(ices). |
| Provincial Death Certificate | A death certificate gives the name and sex of the deceased; the date, time and place of death; the registration number; and the date of issue. |
| Research Certificates | A document required to ensure that there is no will, or that the will is indeed the last one made, as only the last will has legal force. Research certificates are issued by the Chamber of Notaries and the Quebec bar. Applicable only in Quebec. To request this document, contact the Chambre des notaires du Quebec at 514-879-2906 or 1 800-340-4496. |
| Successor Executor/Executrix | Applicable only in Quebec. Wills often provide for alternate or successor executor(s)/executrix(ices), if an executor(s)/executrix(ices) cannot, or will not, act. If the will is probated and provides for a successor executor(s)/executrix(ices), such properly appointed successor(s) may execute transactions on an account(s) after proving that the original executor(s)/executrix(ices) has died or resigned or become incapacitated. |
| Testator/Testatrix | A person who has made a will before death. |
| Trustee | A person holding estate property and/or asset(s) in trust, or in whom an estate is vested. Trustees are subject to a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the beneficiary(ies), and cannot delegate their responsibilities to another person. |
| Will | A declaration in writing by which a person (testator/testatrix) provides for the distribution and/or administration of his/her property and or assets upon death. |
