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Pickering · Probate & estates

Probate help for Pickering estates

Pickering sits right next to Scarborough, and some Pickering estates have a foot on each side of the Rouge: a home in Durham, a condo or a parent’s house in Toronto. We sort out which court, which rules and which taxes apply, and prepare the probate application for the estate trustee.

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Durham Region

Pickering estates are filed in Oshawa

The probate application goes to the Superior Court of Justice for the county or district where the person lived at death. For anyone who lived in Pickering, from Bay Ridges to Seaton, that is Durham Region.

Durham’s Superior Court sits at the Oshawa courthouse, 150 Bond Street East. Nobody has to make the trip to file: Ontario accepts probate applications by email. The original will and the estate administration tax payment are the exceptions. The court’s electronic filing directions require them on paper, delivered in person, by mail or by courier, and we look after that.

What decides the court

Only where the person lived. A Pickering resident who owned a condo in Scarborough is a Durham estate. A Scarborough resident who owned a rental house in Pickering is a Toronto estate. The property outside the home region is still counted in the estate and still dealt with by the estate trustee; it just doesn’t change which courthouse issues the certificate.

Before you apply

Check whether probate is needed at all. A Pickering home owned by spouses as joint tenants passes to the survivor without it, and accounts with a named beneficiary usually do too. Our main probate and estate administration page sets out when probate is and isn’t needed, the forms and the estate trustee’s duties. If a certificate is needed and the estate is worth $150,000 or less, the simpler Small Estate Certificate may fit.

Both sides of the Rouge

When a Pickering estate owns property in Toronto

A Durham court, but Toronto rules for the Toronto property. The estate trustee has to keep both in view.

The Toronto condo or house

  • Toronto requires an occupancy declaration every year for the Vacant Home Tax; an undeclared unit is deemed vacant and taxed at 3% of its assessed value (as of 2026)
  • The City’s exemption for a unit vacant because the owner died can be claimed for up to three consecutive taxation years, with the death certificate
  • If the unit is rented, the lease continues and the rent is paid to the estate
  • A Toronto buyer pays both Ontario’s and Toronto’s land transfer taxes; the estate pays neither

The Pickering home

  • Pickering has no municipal land transfer tax, so a buyer pays Ontario’s tax only
  • Tell the insurer it is unoccupied, and keep the property tax and utilities paid from estate funds
  • If a spouse survives and owned it as a joint tenant, a survivorship application updates the title, with no probate
  • If it was in the deceased’s sole name, the estate trustee normally needs the certificate to sell or transfer it

The estate administration tax

  • Property in the deceased’s sole name is counted wherever in Ontario it is, at date-of-death value, less any mortgage registered on it
  • Example: a Pickering home owned jointly with a spouse, a Scarborough condo in the deceased’s sole name worth $540,000 with a $200,000 registered mortgage, and $25,000 in the bank
  • Only the condo’s equity and the bank account count: $365,000
  • Tax under Ontario’s rules (as of 2026): 315 × $15 = $4,725

Selling either property? We act on estate sales too; see our page on selling a home and our Pickering real estate page.

Why Wannes Law

A Toronto law firm that keeps you informed

  • A licensed Ontario lawyer

    Rosalie Wannes, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, is responsible for your file from start to finish.

  • Fees before you commit

    Instant online quotes and published flat fees, so you know the cost before you retain us.

  • Every step explained

    Plain-language explanations of what happens, what you provide and what we handle, at every stage.

  • Direct access

    Reach your lawyer and law clerk directly by phone and email while your matter is underway.

  • Sign in person or remotely

    Meet at our Sheppard Ave E office in Toronto, or review documents by video and courier the originals.

  • English, Armenian and Arabic

    Talk through your matter in the language you are most comfortable with.

New homes

A new Seaton or Duffin Heights home that hasn’t closed yet

Pickering has new-home communities such as Seaton and Duffin Heights. When a buyer dies between signing with the builder and the closing date, the agreement becomes a problem for the estate trustee.

A purchase agreement doesn’t simply end when the buyer dies. As a general rule the estate steps into the buyer’s position, with the same obligations to close and the same rights to the home and the deposit. What that means in practice depends on the builder’s agreement, so it is the first document to read.

Questions to answer early

  • What does the agreement say? Some builder agreements deal with a buyer’s death, assignment to a family member or the builder’s consent to changes. Many restrict assignment.
  • How will it be paid for? A mortgage approval in the deceased’s name won’t carry over. The estate, or a beneficiary taking over the purchase, needs its own financing, and a lender will want to see who has authority.
  • Who has authority to close? The builder’s lawyer will want proof the estate trustee can sign. If a certificate is needed, the timing matters against the closing date.
  • Was it bought jointly? If a surviving spouse was a co-buyer, they may be able to close in their own name, depending on the agreement and the lender.

Don’t let the closing date arrive unannounced. Tell the builder in writing that the buyer has died and who is dealing with the estate, and send us the agreement and any amendments. We can explain the estate’s options, including closing, a family member taking over with the builder’s consent, or negotiating with the builder, and act on the closing if the estate goes ahead. Our pre-construction page explains how these agreements work.

Questions

Pickering probate questions

Where is probate filed for someone who lived in Pickering?

With the Superior Court of Justice for Durham Region, at 150 Bond Street East, Oshawa. The application can be emailed; the original will and the tax payment go on paper.

My mother lived in Pickering but owned a condo in Scarborough. Do we file in Toronto?

No. The court is chosen by where she lived, so the estate is filed in Oshawa. The Scarborough condo is still part of the estate, and Toronto’s Vacant Home Tax declaration still applies to it while it is empty.

Does a Pickering home owned jointly with a spouse need probate?

Usually not. A home held by spouses as joint tenants passes to the survivor, who registers a survivorship application with the death certificate to update the title. Probate may still be needed for other assets in the deceased’s sole name.

How much are probate fees on a Pickering estate?

Ontario’s estate administration tax is nothing on the first $50,000 and $15 for every $1,000 above that (as of 2026). On a $900,000 estate that is $12,750. Our legal fee is quoted individually.

The buyer of a new Pickering home died before closing. Does the estate have to close?

Generally the estate takes over the buyer’s obligations under the agreement. The builder’s agreement, the financing and whether a co-buyer survives all affect the options. Send us the agreement as early as you can.

Do we need to come to your office?

No. Our office is at 3319 Sheppard Ave E in Toronto, just across the Rouge, but most estate work can be done by phone, email and video, with originals signed on paper and couriered.

Guides

Guides for Pickering families

All guides

Areas We Serve

Probate help in Durham Region and across the GTA

We also act on estates from Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa, and across Toronto, York and Peel. Still planning? See our Pickering wills page.

  • Scarborough

    Probate & estates for Scarborough clients. Our office is on Sheppard Ave E.

  • North York

    Probate & estates for North York clients.

  • Markham

    Probate & estates for Markham clients.

Here to help

Two properties, one estate: let’s map it out.

Book a free 15-minute call, or answer the estate questions for a quote.

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