York Region
Probate for a Vaughan estate goes to Newmarket
The application is filed with the Superior Court of Justice for the area where the person lived. For Woodbridge, Maple, Kleinburg, Concord and Thornhill west of Yonge, that is York Region.
York Region’s Superior Court sits at 50 Eagle Street West in Newmarket. Ontario accepts probate applications by email, so the application and affidavits are filed electronically; the original will, any bond and the estate administration tax payment are delivered to the court office on paper. We do both, and we deal with any questions the court office raises, so the estate trustee doesn’t need to travel north.
Do you need probate at all?
A home owned by spouses as joint tenants passes to the survivor without probate. Where the surviving parent later dies owning the house alone, probate is usually needed to sell it or transfer it to a child. That second death is often when a family first meets the process, and when the questions below come up.
The estate administration tax on the house
Suppose a widowed father leaves his Woodbridge house, in his sole name and mortgage-free, worth $1,350,000, and $150,000 in the bank, to his three children equally. The estate is $1,500,000, and Ontario’s estate administration tax (as of 2026) is nothing on the first $50,000 and $15 per $1,000 above it: 1,450 × $15 = $21,750. The bank account may not be enough to pay that, the funeral and the house’s running costs, so plan how the estate will fund them before filing.
For the full process, see our main probate and estate administration page.
Keeping it in the family
One child keeps the house: transfer or buy-out
Often one son or daughter wants to keep the family home. How that is structured decides whether land transfer tax is payable, and how fair it is to the others.
A straight transfer to the only beneficiary
If the will leaves the house to one child alone, the estate trustee can transfer it to that child once the estate’s debts and taxes are covered. Ontario’s land transfer tax guidance treats a transfer from the estate to the only beneficiary entitled to the land under the will as having nil consideration, so no land transfer tax is payable, and a mortgage on the house doesn’t count as consideration in that situation.
A buy-out between siblings
If the house is shared among three children and one of them keeps it, the other two have to be compensated, either by giving them more of the other estate assets or by the child keeping the house paying them. Ontario’s guidance says that in these cases tax is assessed on the value of the other assets given up plus any other consideration paid. In the example above, a child taking the $1,350,000 house would owe land transfer tax on the value the other two receive in exchange for their shares, not on the full house value. Vaughan has no municipal land transfer tax, so only Ontario’s tax applies.
Other points to settle first
- Value: get an independent appraisal, so the buy-out price is fair and the estate trustee is protected if anyone later complains.
- Financing: the child keeping the house usually needs a mortgage to pay the others. Line it up before the estate commits to the transfer.
- Tax on the final return: the father is treated as having sold the house at its value just before death; the principal residence exemption usually covers it, but it still has to be reported.
- Timing: distributing the house before the six-month claim periods and the CRA clearance certificate can leave the estate trustee personally exposed. Hold back enough to cover tax.
Our title transfer page explains how the transfer is registered. If there are several beneficiaries or discretion in the will, the land transfer tax answer can be less obvious, and we check it before anything is signed.
Why Wannes Law
A Toronto law firm that keeps you informed
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A licensed Ontario lawyer
Rosalie Wannes, licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, is responsible for your file from start to finish.
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Fees before you commit
Instant online quotes and published flat fees, so you know the cost before you retain us.
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Every step explained
Plain-language explanations of what happens, what you provide and what we handle, at every stage.
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Direct access
Reach your lawyer and law clerk directly by phone and email while your matter is underway.
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Sign in person or remotely
Meet at our Sheppard Ave E office in Toronto, or review documents by video and courier the originals.
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English, Armenian and Arabic
Talk through your matter in the language you are most comfortable with.
Selling instead
Selling a Vaughan estate home, in the right order
If no one is keeping the house, the estate trustee sells it and shares the proceeds. The order matters more than the speed.
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Step 1: Secure, insure and value it
Tell the insurer the house is unoccupied, keep the property tax and utilities paid from estate funds, and get a date-of-death appraisal. That value goes into the probate application, the estate information return and the final tax return.
You provide
- Property tax bill and insurance policy
- Any appraisal or agent’s opinion of value
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Step 2: Apply for the certificate
We file the application with the Newmarket court. The house can be cleared and an agent chosen while it is being processed.
Estate administration tax: nothing on the first $50,000, then $15 per $1,000 (as of 2026).
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Step 3: List and accept an offer, with the certificate in mind
Choose a closing date that allows for the certificate if it hasn’t issued yet, and have us review the agreement before the estate trustee signs. The buyer pays Ontario’s land transfer tax; the estate doesn’t pay it as seller.
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Step 4: Close the sale
We act for the estate trustee on the closing: discharge of any mortgage, the closing documents and receipt of the proceeds into our trust account for the estate. Our selling a home page explains the steps, and the legal fee for the sale is calculated by price in the quote.
We handle
- Reviewing the agreement
- Mortgage payout and discharge
- Paying the proceeds to the estate account
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Step 5: Hold back, then distribute
Keep enough back for the final tax returns and any tax on growth in value since the death, obtain the CRA clearance certificate, then distribute against signed releases. An interim distribution is sometimes possible.
Questions
Vaughan probate questions
Where is probate filed for someone who lived in Vaughan?
With the Superior Court of Justice for York Region, at 50 Eagle Street West in Newmarket. The application can be emailed; the original will and the tax payment are delivered on paper.
Is there land transfer tax when the estate transfers the house to my sister?
Not if she is the only beneficiary entitled to the house under the will and she gives nothing for it; Ontario treats that as nil consideration. If she is buying out other beneficiaries, tax is payable on what they receive for their shares.
Does Vaughan charge its own land transfer tax?
No. Only the City of Toronto has a municipal land transfer tax. A Vaughan buyer pays Ontario’s tax only.
Can the house be sold before probate is granted?
You can prepare and list it, but a sale normally can’t close until the estate trustee has the certificate. Set the closing date with that in mind.
How much is probate on a Vaughan house?
Ontario’s estate administration tax is nothing on the first $50,000 and $15 per $1,000 above it (as of 2026). A $1,500,000 estate pays $21,750. Our legal fee is quoted individually.
Do we have to meet in person?
No. Our office is at 3319 Sheppard Ave E in Toronto, and most estate work can be done by phone, email and video, with documents signed on paper.
Areas We Serve
Probate help in York Region and across the GTA
We also act on Markham and Richmond Hill estates filed in Newmarket. For the sale itself, see our Vaughan real estate page; for planning ahead, our Vaughan wills page.
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Scarborough
Probate & estates for Scarborough clients. Our office is on Sheppard Ave E.
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North York
Probate & estates for North York clients.
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Markham
Probate & estates for Markham clients.
Here to help
Keep it or sell it? Get the numbers first.
Book a free 15-minute call about the estate, or answer the estate questions for a quote.
Prefer to talk now? Call (647) 707-7718 · Service in English, Armenian and Arabic