Application for Certificate with a Will

• Author: Tina Kamakaris/Jane Kamakaris/Louis Kamakaris
• Pages: 729-758

729

Chapter 41 Application for Certificate with a Will

CHAPTER 41

APPLICATION FOR

CERTIFICATE WITH

A WILL

is chapter discusses the steps and documents required when applying to the court for obtaining

a certicate of appointment of estate trustee after a person dies leaving a will.

APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPOINTMENT OF

ESTATE TRUSTEE, FORM 74A

When a deceased dies leaving a will, your rm les with the court an application for a certicate

of appointment of estate trustee, Form 74A, on behalf of the deceased’s estate. You must indicate

by checking the box on the application, Precedent 41.2, that you are applying for a certicate of

appointment of estate trustee with a will. e certicate of appointment of estate trustee with a

will enables the estate trustee with a will to deal with the deceased’s estate.

When there is a will, the estate of the deceased is said to be a testate estate. Prior to preparing

the application for a certicate of appointment of estate trustee, the lawyer usually has the estate

trustee complete a checklist of all property and debts and liabilities of the deceased, as at the date

of death, and often also a checklist of all of the property of a surviving spouse. is information

may come from a variety of sources, including the estate trustee with a will, surviving spouse,

relatives, and any safety deposit boxes of the deceased. e lawyer usually advises the estate

trustee with a will to keep careful records of any out-of-pocket expenses and of all money received

in the estate. Estate trustees are entitled to be paid a fee out of the deceased’s estate in an amount

based on the size of the estate and to also be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.

WILL

e estate trustee usually provides to the lawyer the deceased’s executed will.

Affidavit of execution of will or codicil, Form 74D Either one of the two witnesses

who witnessed the testator sign the will may sign this adavit. In many cases, however, one of

the witnesses may have already signed this adavit at the time the testator signed the will. If not

done then, track down one of the two witnesses, and arrange to have them sign the adavit of

execution of will, Form 74D. See Chapter 39 for a precedent and also for the process followed

when signing remotely.

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730 Legal Office Procedures

Will as exhibit On the back of the executed page of the original will, key or rubber-stamp

two Exhibit “A” marks, Precedent 41.1, one pertaining to the witness of the will and the other

pertaining to the estate trustee with a will. e will is referred to as Exhibit “A” in the various

documents to ensure all references to the will identify the same will. A commissioner signs the

exhibit marks. When the will is executed remotely, there must be one Exhibit “A” mark on the

counterpart (copy of the will) of each witness, and there must be three Exhibit “A” marks, one for

each witness and one for the estate trustee with a will, on the testator’s counterpart.

Codicil as exhibit e codicil as exhibit is made on the back of the executed page of the

original codicil in the same manner as a will except that it is Exhibit “B”; if there is a second

codicil, it is Exhibit “C,” etc.

GOLD, Arthur William

Re: Estate

Arthur Gold, a retired bricklayer, died on June 13, leaving only his spouse, Ruth Gold, and

a brother surviving him. See Chapter 39 for the adavit of execution of Arthur Gold’s will.

We have Arthur Gold’s proof of death certicate, Precedent 41.1a.

Arthur Gold appointed Randolph James Murphy, a close friend, as his estate trustee. In

his will, Precedent 41.1, Arthur Gold left his entire estate to Ruth Gold, and were she to

die within 60 days after him, Randolph JamesMurphy is to transfer Arthur Gold’s estate to

Arthur Gold’s brother, George James Gold, who lives in Newfoundland. We have prepared

the application for a certicate of appointment of estate trustee, Precedent 41.2, Randolph

James Murphy’s adavit of service of application, Precedent 41.3, and the certicate of

appointment of estate trustee, Precedent 41.6. We have also prepared the estate information

return, Precedent 41.8. Once we receive the approved certicate from the court, Randolph

James Murphy may distribute the Gold estate according to the terms of ArthurGold’s will.

VALUE OF ESTATE

Estate means real and personal property that the deceased owns. One purpose for establishing

the value of a deceased’s estate is to determine the estate administration taxes, formerly probate

fees, payable to the court. Under the Estate Administration Tax Act, estate administration taxes are

based on the value of the deceased’s estate. e value of a deceased’s estate must be the fair market

value at the date of death, i.e. the price a buyer will pay and a seller will accept for a property

under reasonable and ordinary conditions. e information for calculating the value of the estate

comes mainly from the estate trustee. To calculate the value of the estate, divide the assets which

the deceased owned on the date of death in two categories: personal property and real estate.

PERSONAL PROPERTY

Include in this category the fair market value of all property that is not real estate and that is in the

name of the deceased, including: bank accounts, bonds, shares, charges (mortgages), automobiles,

business assets, furniture, jewellery, paintings, personal items, and life insurance policy payable to

the deceased’s estate. If the deceased’s life insurance policy does not name a specic individual as

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