How you transfer a property after someone dies in Ontario depends entirely on how that person held title. Jointly owned property passes to the survivor through a survivorship application, which takes about a week and avoids probate. Property held in one name requires a transmission application, which usually means waiting for the court first.
Two routes, two very different timelines. This guide explains which one applies to you, what each involves, and what Ontario calls the document you may be looking for under another name.
Start With the Parcel Register
Everything turns on one question: did the deceased hold the property as a joint tenant, as a tenant in common, or alone?
Families often assume they know. They are often wrong, because the deed uses language nobody reads at the time. A lawyer pulls the parcel register from the land registry and reads how title actually stands. That search costs very little and it decides which of the two routes below you take.
| How the deceased held title | Route | Probate needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Joint tenancy with right of survivorship | Survivorship application | Generally no |
| Tenants in common | Transmission application | Usually yes |
| Sole name | Transmission application | Usually yes |
Route One: The Survivorship Application
Where two people held a property as joint tenants and one dies, ownership passes to the survivor by operation of law at the moment of death. The survivor already owns the whole property. The registry simply has not caught up.
A survivorship application under section 123 of the Land Titles Act updates the register to show the survivor as sole owner. Read that sentence carefully, because it explains why this route moves so quickly. The application records a transfer that has already happened. It does not carry one out.
What It Needs
- Proof of death, meaning an original death certificate or an original Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee
- The parcel register, confirming the joint tenancy and that nobody severed it
- Government-issued photo identification for the surviving owner
What It Costs and How Long It Takes
A survivorship application typically completes within a few days to a couple of weeks once you have the death certificate and a clean title search. Legal fees usually fall between $850 and $1,000 plus HST, with a modest government registration fee on top.
No land transfer tax applies, because nobody bought anything. No Estate Administration Tax applies to that property either, because it never entered the estate.
You cannot file this yourself. Registration happens electronically through Teraview, and a lawyer must sign it.
One Trap Worth Knowing
Survivorship does not always apply even where the register shows a joint tenancy. Under section 26(1) of the Family Law Act, where a married person dies owning a matrimonial home as a joint tenant with someone other than their spouse, the law treats the joint tenancy as severed immediately before death.
Picture a mother who added her son to title to her home, then died while still married to his father. The joint tenancy severs, survivorship fails, and her half goes into her estate. Families discover this at the worst possible moment, which is exactly why the title search comes first.
Route Two: The Transmission Application
Where the deceased held the property alone, or as a tenant in common, their share forms part of the estate. It passes under their will, or under the intestacy rules where the deceased left no will. Moving it out of the estate and into the right hands takes a transmission application under section 124 of the Land Titles Act.
Either the estate trustee applies, taking title in their representative capacity so they can then sell or transfer it, or a devisee under the will or an heir on intestacy applies directly.
The Court Usually Comes First
In Ontario, a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee is generally required to transmit or convey real property forming part of a deceased person’s estate. However, limited exceptions exist, including estates valued at $50,000 or less, qualifying first dealings following conversion from the Registry system to Land Titles, and certain circumstances where real property has vested in beneficiaries under the Estates Administration Act. Where an exemption is available, the prescribed registration requirements, including a covenant indemnifying the Land Titles Assurance Fund, must be satisfied.
That certificate is the step most people call probate, and most estates need it. The court timeline then drives everything. Expect several months rather than several weeks.
Transmission Is Only the First Step
The transmission application does not put the property into a beneficiary’s name. It registers the property in the estate trustee’s name, in their representative capacity, so the trustee holds it on behalf of the estate rather than for themselves.
A second registration moves it to where it is going. When the trustee sells the property, or transfers it to a beneficiary entitled under the will, that registration is a transfer by personal representative. Two steps, two registrations, and the second one waits until the estate is ready for it.
Anyone planning to sell an estate property should budget for both. The transmission clears the way. The transfer by personal representative completes the move.
Are you the estate trustee?
Book a free 15-minute call. We will look at how the property was held, tell you which route applies and whether the estate needs probate, and set out what to do first.
Estate Administration Tax
Ontario charges Estate Administration Tax on the value of the estate when the court issues the certificate. Estates worth $50,000 or less pay nothing. Above that, the rate runs at $15 for every $1,000 of value, with the estate value rounded up to the nearest thousand.
| Estate value | Tax payable |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | Nil |
| $250,000 | $3,000 |
| $500,000 | $6,750 |
| $900,000 | $12,750 |
| $1,500,000 | $21,750 |
To estimate the tax for a specific estate, use our probate fee calculator.
The estate trustee must also file an Estate Information Return with the Ministry of Finance within 180 calendar days after the court issues the certificate, even where the calculated tax comes to nothing. Missing that deadline carries penalties, and executors miss it regularly.
If You Are Searching for a Succession Certificate
People arriving in Ontario from other legal systems look for the document they knew at home, and Ontario does not use any of those names. Here is what translates to what.
| What you may be searching for | Where it comes from | The Ontario equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Succession certificate | India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka | Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee |
| Certificate of inheritance, or heirship certificate | Civil law jurisdictions across Europe and the Middle East | Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee |
| Letters of administration | England, and many Commonwealth countries | Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee Without a Will |
| Grant of probate | England, Australia, New Zealand | Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee With a Will |
| Transfer on death deed | United States | No Ontario equivalent exists |
That last row deserves emphasis. Several American states let an owner name a beneficiary on the deed so the property passes automatically at death. Ontario offers nothing comparable. Joint tenancy is the closest Ontario gets, and as the sections above show, it carries consequences a transfer on death deed does not.
If a relative died owning property in Ontario while you live overseas, or if the estate spans two countries, the position gets more involved and the Ontario property follows Ontario rules regardless of where the deceased made their will. Come and talk to us before you file anything.
What to Do First
- Obtain several original death certificates from the funeral director or ServiceOntario. You will need more than one.
- Instruct a lawyer to pull the parcel register and confirm how title stands.
- Locate the will, if one exists.
- Take the survivorship route where the register shows a joint tenancy, and expect to complete within a fortnight.
- Where it does not, apply for the Certificate of Appointment, register the transmission into the estate trustee’s name, then register a transfer by personal representative when the property sells or passes to a beneficiary.
- Diarise the Estate Information Return deadline, 180 days from the certificate.
Do not list the property for sale before you know which route applies. Buyers want a closing date, and an estate that still needs a Certificate of Appointment cannot promise one.
Common Questions
What Is a Survivorship Application in Ontario?
A registration under section 123 of the Land Titles Act that updates the land registry to show a surviving joint tenant as sole owner after the other owner dies. Ownership already passed automatically at death, so the application records the change rather than creating it.
Do I Need Probate to Transfer a Jointly Owned Home?
Generally no. Property held in joint tenancy passes outside the estate, so that property needs no Certificate of Appointment and Estate Administration Tax does not touch it. Other estate assets may still require a certificate.
Does a Transmission Application Put the Property in the Beneficiary’s Name?
No. It registers the property in the estate trustee’s name, in their representative capacity. A second registration, a transfer by personal representative, moves it to a buyer when the estate sells, or to a beneficiary entitled under the will.
How Much Does a Survivorship Application Cost in Ontario?
Legal fees typically run from $850 to $1,000 plus HST, with a small registration fee on top. No land transfer tax applies. A lawyer must register it through Teraview.
What Is the Ontario Equivalent of a Succession Certificate?
A Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee, issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Ontario does not use the term succession certificate, which comes from the legal systems of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
How Long Does It Take to Transfer Property After a Death in Ontario?
A survivorship application completes in a few days to two weeks. A transmission application usually waits on the Certificate of Appointment first, which takes several months, after which registration itself is quick.
We Can Tell You Which Route Applies in a Day
Most of the uncertainty families carry after a death comes down to one unanswered question about how the deceased held title. A title search answers it quickly and cheaply, and it changes everything that follows.
Wannes Law handles survivorship and transmission applications across Ontario from our Toronto office, with service in English, Armenian and Arabic. Our probate and estate administration practice works alongside our real estate practice, which matters here because transferring a property after a death draws on both.
For the wider picture on what an executor faces, read what to do when someone dies in Ontario. If you are considering a title change while everyone is still living, our guide to adding or removing someone from a property title sets out what that triggers.
Planning ahead for your own family? A will that names your estate trustee makes every step above simpler. Our page on wills and estates in Toronto covers flat-fee wills and powers of attorney.
Book a free consultation or get in touch.
This article provides general information about Ontario law and does not constitute legal advice. Estate matters turn on facts specific to each situation, including how the deceased held title, the terms of any will, and the family circumstances at the date of death. Speak to a lawyer before taking any step.
Sources: Land Titles Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.5 · Estates Administration Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.22 · Estate Administration Tax, Government of Ontario · Bulletin 2000-6, Estate Documents, Land Titles Act · Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3
