Inherited a House in Ontario? The First 7 Steps for Executors and Beneficiaries
Learning that you have inherited a home — or that you are the executor responsible for one — usually arrives at the worst possible time, in the middle of grief. The good news: the early steps are manageable when you take them in the right order. Here are the first seven.
1. Find the will and confirm your role
Locate the original will and confirm who is named as estate trustee (executor). If there is no will, Ontario’s intestacy rules under the Succession Law Reform Act decide who administers the estate and who inherits. You cannot act on the home until this is clear.
2. Secure the property
Make sure the house is insured (tell the insurer it is now vacant — many policies lapse on an unoccupied home), the locks are secure, and the utilities and property taxes are kept current. A vacant, uninsured home is one of the most common avoidable losses in an estate.
3. Get a date-of-death valuation
Order a proper valuation of the home as of the date of death. This single number drives two things: the Estate Administration Tax on probate, and your cost base for capital gains if the home is sold later. It is worth doing properly and early.
4. Find out whether you need probate
If the home was in the deceased’s name alone, you will almost certainly need the Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee before you can sell or refinance it. If it was held in joint tenancy, it may pass to the survivor without probate. Confirm which applies before making any promises to buyers or beneficiaries.
5. Do not distribute anything yet
This is where executors get into trouble. If you pay out beneficiaries — or hand over the house — before the estate’s debts and taxes are settled, you can be held personally liable for the shortfall. The “executor’s year” exists precisely so you can confirm the estate is solvent first.
6. Decide, with advice: keep or sell
Is the plan to sell the home, or for one beneficiary to keep it and buy out the others? That decision depends on the numbers, the mortgage, and the family — and it is far easier to make with the legal picture and the financing options in front of you at the same time.
7. Get the legal administration moving
Probate, creditor notices, tax filings, and the property decision all run on overlapping clocks. Starting the estate administration early — rather than after a buyer is waiting — is what keeps the whole thing from stalling.
Handling the estate and the home under one roof means steps 4 through 7 happen in sequence instead of in a scramble. If you have just become an executor or beneficiary of an Ontario home, a short, free consultation can map out exactly what comes next for your situation.
General information for Ontario, not legal advice. Reviewed by Angelos Spingos. Last reviewed July 6, 2026.