If you have inherited a house, the first thing you want to know is usually when you can sell it. The honest answer is that it depends on whether the estate needs probate, which province the house sits in, and how organized the paperwork was before the person died.
Here is how it actually works in Ontario and Alberta.
Why you usually cannot sell right away
When someone dies, the house does not automatically become yours to sell. Title still sits in the deceased person’s name. A buyer’s lawyer is going to want proof that whoever signs the deed has the legal authority to sign it, and that proof is a court document.
In Ontario it is called a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee. In Alberta it is a Grant of Probate, or a Grant of Administration if there was no will. Until the court issues that document, most deals will not close.
There are exceptions worth checking before you assume you are stuck. If the house was held in joint tenancy with a right of survivorship, it passes to the surviving owner outside the estate and no probate is needed for that asset. Same story if the property was already sitting in a trust. Pull the title and look before you wait on a court you may not need.
What probate costs in Ontario
Ontario charges an Estate Administration Tax on the value of the estate. The rate is simple. Nothing on the first $50,000. Then $15 for every $1,000, or part of a thousand, above that. The estate value gets rounded up to the nearest thousand first.
For an estate valued at $240,000, the math runs like this. Take $240,000 and subtract $50,000, which leaves $190,000. Divide that by $1,000 and you get 190. Multiply by $15 and the tax is $2,850, payable to the Minister of Finance.
A few things trip people up here.
The value used is the appraised value at the date of death, not what the house eventually sells for. If the market moved between the death and the closing, that does not change the tax.
You can deduct a mortgage or a lien registered against the property. You cannot deduct funeral expenses, lawyer’s fees, real estate commissions, credit card debt or an unregistered loan. None of those reduce the estate value.
You also have to file an Estate Information Return with the Ministry of Finance within 180 calendar days after the certificate is issued, even if the calculated tax works out to zero. This one is not a formality. Estate representatives who fail to file, or who file something false or misleading, can be fined at least $1,000 and up to twice the tax payable, with the possibility of imprisonment up to two years.
If the estate is worth $150,000 or less, Ontario has a simpler route called a Small Estate Certificate. Shorter forms, and the court generally turns it around faster than the standard application. The tax is calculated the same way, so you still pay on everything above $50,000, but the paperwork is lighter. It is optional, so you can still use the regular process if you prefer.
What probate costs in Alberta
Alberta is far cheaper, and the gap surprises people who own property in both provinces.
Alberta charges a flat court fee for issuing a grant of probate or administration, based on the net value of the property in Alberta:
- $10,000 or less: $35
- Over $10,000 up to $25,000: $135
- Over $25,000 up to $125,000: $275
- Over $125,000 up to $250,000: $400
- Over $250,000: $525
That is the whole scale. $525 is the ceiling. An Alberta estate holding a $900,000 house pays the same $525 as one holding a $300,000 house. In Ontario, a $900,000 estate would be looking at roughly $12,750 in Estate Administration Tax on the same facts.
Other surrogate fees can apply. Documents that require opening a court file respecting an estate cost $300, and an application in the course of a proceeding respecting an estate costs $100. The headline number still stays modest.
The part nobody can honestly promise you
Cost is easy to state. Time is not.
Court processing times move around depending on the registry, the time of year, how complete the application is, and whether anyone is contesting anything. A clean application with a valid will and a cooperative family is a completely different situation from an intestate estate with four siblings who are not speaking to each other.
Anyone who quotes you a firm number of weeks without having seen your file is guessing. What we can tell you from doing this often is that estates are usually measured in months rather than days, and the single biggest driver of delay is incomplete paperwork going in the front door. Death certificate, the original will, a full asset list with supporting values, and beneficiary details all lined up before you file will save you more time than anything else you can do.
What you can do while you wait
Waiting does not have to mean doing nothing.
Get the property valued as at the date of death. You need that figure for the tax calculation anyway, and it also tells you what the house is realistically worth today.
Keep the insurance current. This is the one that bites people hardest. Most home insurance policies treat a house differently once it is sitting empty, and coverage can lapse or be voided after a set number of vacant days. Call the insurer, tell them exactly what the situation is, and get the vacancy endorsement in writing.
Keep the utilities on, particularly heat through an Ontario or Alberta winter. A frozen pipe in an empty house in February can take more value off a property than the entire probate bill.
Deal with the contents. This is usually the emotionally hardest part and the part that gets put off longest. Starting early is kinder to everyone involved.
Talk to buyers before the certificate lands. Nothing stops you from having the conversation, getting a real number, and understanding your options while the court does its work. A sale can be negotiated and papered subject to probate, with the closing date set for after the certificate is in hand.
Selling as-is versus fixing it up first
Inherited houses are often rough. The person who lived there may have been elderly or unwell for years, and deferred maintenance stacks up quietly.
You have three real options. Put money into the house and list it. List it as-is and accept the discount the market applies. Or sell it directly to a buyer who takes it in its current condition.
Which one wins depends on how much cash the estate has available, how many beneficiaries are waiting on their share, and how far apart everyone lives. An estate with three siblings in three provinces and no liquid cash to fund a renovation usually does better selling as-is than trying to coordinate contractors from six hours away.
If you want a number on the house without committing to anything, you can get a cash offer today and we will walk through what the property is worth in its current condition. We buy across Ontario and Alberta, we buy houses that need work, and we can set a closing date around when your certificate is realistically expected instead of forcing you to rush the court.
If you would rather understand the process before you call, here is how we buy houses.
Questions are fine, and they cost you nothing. Call us at (226) 988-9380.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. Estate law and tax rules change, and every estate is different, so talk to a lawyer or an accountant about your specific situation.