Posting a Surety Bond for Probate

Probate is the legal process for getting a Court order appointing you as the ‘estate trustee’ of the estate of the deceased.

Remember, it is extremely important to identify what assets actually “fall into the estate” and which assets ‘pass outside the estate’ by beneficiary designation or joint ownership.  It may not be necessary to probate at all.

When is a probate bond required?

When you apply for probate, the presumption is that a bond will be necessary unless you are the executor named in the Will.  Generally (but not always) a named executor will not have to post a bond.

A bond (or Court order to dispense with a bond) is required in almost all other circumstances which include, in particular, all cases where there is no Will (intestacy), all cases where the applicant is not named in the Will, and most cases where the applicant is not a resident of Canada and the Will does not expressly waive the requirement to post a bond.

How to get a bond

A bond can be acquired from a specialized insurer.  It is important to use an broker and insurer who specialize in providing surety bonds for Ontario probate.

How to get an Order dispensing with a bond

It is frequently possible to get a Court order dispensing with the requirement to post a bond.  However, this is not simple and requires proper preparation of the correct materials to be submitted to the Court.  Like any Court order, it is only issued after careful consideration so all of the key issues must be addressed and all of the necessary factual materials must be properly put before the Court.  This is not a do-it-yourself exercise – get help from an experience estate lawyer.

Get professional help

Bonding is an important issue in Ontario probate applications.  It is not easily, quickly or simply dealt with.

A badly prepared application can waste months of time and thousands of dollars.  We strongly recommend that you get assistance from an experienced estate lawyer to deal with your probate bonding requirements.

Miltons Estate Law – Probate and Estates Law