Estate Planning

The Dreaded Application for Certificate of Appointment of an Estate Trustee

By Hull & Hull LLP

I have learned that only a small percentage of applications for certificate of appointment of an estate trustee, filed in Toronto, are approved without being sent back for correction.  

Some common problems associated with these types of applications are, incorrect or inconsistent references to the deceased's name, problems concerning the mailing of the application to beneficiaries who have an interest in the subject estate, incorrect calculations of estate administration tax and in cases involving holographic wills, a missing affidavit attesting to the handwriting of the deceased.  Needless to mention, most of these errors can be avoided if the application is carefully reviewed.

But what happens if the deceased's name is spelled incorrectly in the Will?  If there is an error in the deceased's name in the Will, the heading on all of the documents should reflect the correct name, followed by a statement stating "incorrectly referred to in the Will as (insert the name is it appears in the Will).  It is also important to remember, that the names of beneficiaries shown in the notice of application must be identical to the way in which their names appear in the Will.  

Thanks for reading,

Rick Bickhram

 

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on October 23, 2008 (boomark / email).