Becoming an Estate Executor
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The following material applies to provinces other than Quebec (see also Quebec).
The decision to serve as an estate executor should not be taken lightly: it is a significant responsibility, and requires substantial effort.
Ideally, the decedent discussed the role with you beforehand and you knowingly agreed to serve (see Choosing an Executor), but in any case you can usually decline when the time comes if for some reason you choose not to serve (perhaps you don't have enough time, perhaps you are unable to handle the duties, perhaps you simply don't want the headache ... it doesn't matter). However, someone will have to serve in the role, and the court will appoint someone if necessary.
In Advance
If you know you are going to serve as executor, there are a number of things you can do before the decedent passes away that will make your task significantly easier, in particular gathering information ahead of time with the estate owner's help rather than playing a detective game later (see In Advance for more information).
Taking the Reins
Once the estate owner passes away, there are some things that must be done right away: arrange the funeral, notify various parties, secure the house, etc.
These early tasks are actually a little tricky, because until the court officially puts you in charge of the estate, you have limited authority. In truth, it's not actually your duty to arrange the funeral, or to do anything at all... you don't even need to accept the role when the time comes.
On the other hand, if you do intend to handle settling the estate, you should keep in mind that it is the executor's duty to protect estate assets, which can be particularly vulnerable during the early days after a death (see First Week).
Frankly, this early period is a bit of a gray area with respect to the state-specific law and real life, and you will have to use your judgment as to what you do immediately after the death.
Appointment
To have the court officially grant you the authority to represent and settle the estate, you must apply for "probate" (see How to Apply for Probate).
The simplest case is for the person named as executor in the will to make this application. If such a person is unable or unwilling to do so, then priority falls to alternative executors named in the will.
If there is no will, or the will does not name any executors able or willing to serve, then priority falls to the family of decedent, prioritized on a province-specific ranking of familial relationships (e.g., spouse, child, parent, etc.)
Note that some states place restrictions on out-of-state residents, or impose additional requirements on such residents, and EstateExec will bring that to your attention in your Tasks list.
See also Multiple Executors.
Other Paths to Appointment
If no one exists who meets the default criteria to serve as executor (i.e., named in the will or in the default line of succession), or the applicable people refuse the responsibility, the court will appoint someone else (perhaps the Public Trustee, or perhaps someone who desires the responsibility but has no legal standing to demand it). In fact, the court is not always obligated to follow the desires of the will or the default succession in any case.
If you wish to serve as the executor but there are other people with higher priority than you, you can normally achieve your goal by submitting signed waivers of those other people, stating that they do not wish to serve (and even better, also stating that they'd like you to serve).
After the Appointment
Once you have been appointed executor, you can begin the bulk of the estate settlement process, keeping in mind that you now have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the estate.
See Executor Guide for an overview of estate settlement in general, Probate for the court-supervised aspects of estate settlement in particular, and Timeline for an overview of tasks by time period.
If you are using EstateExec, it will automatically generate a list of detailed tasks for you to accomplish, based upon the particulars of your estate.
Alternatives to Appointment
Not all estates go through official probate, and instead use a province-specific small estate process designed to dramatically simplify estate settlement (often with no court interaction at all). The definition of "small" varies dramatically from province to province, and there are asset exclusions that can be valued in the millions of dollars, so it may be worth taking a quick look even if the estate you are handling seems "big".
However, since in most such cases the court is not involved, the court thus never officially appoints anyone as executor. Instead, the person settling the estate will rely on self-generated documents to prove his or her authority. While this approach can work, in real life certain institutions (e.g., banks) sometimes refuse to recognize this authority, regardless of the law, and insist that they will only cooperate with someone possessing official Letters from the court. In such case, you will have little choice but to go through probate anyway.