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Estates
A death often brings old tensions to the surface. When an estate stalls, when a will comes as a surprise, or when you are left without information, there are remedies available.
Contesting a will
A will can be challenged, but not simply because it disappoints. The recognized grounds concern the testator's capacity at the time of drafting, the influence another person may have exerted over them, or compliance with the formalities the law requires for the type of will in question.
- Incapacity or diminished capacity of the testator at signing
- Undue influence exercised by someone close to them
- Defect of form in a holograph will or a will before witnesses
- Doubt as to authenticity, or the existence of a later will
- Probate of a will and contesting probate
A liquidation going nowhere
The liquidator has specific obligations: to prepare an inventory, inform the heirs, administer the property prudently, and then render an account. Where those obligations go unmet, heirs are not without recourse.
- Liquidator inactive, unreachable, or in a conflict of interest
- Inventory not prepared, or incomplete
- Refusal to share information with the heirs
- Application for a rendering of account
- Replacement or removal of the liquidator
- Estate property used or sold without authorization
Heirs' rights
You have learned of a death and don't know whether you are an heir. You are being asked to renounce without explanation. A co-heir is occupying the family home. A division strikes you as unfair. These questions have answers, and often simpler ones than people fear.
- Accepting or renouncing a succession
- Insolvent estates and the liability of heirs
- Partition of property and disagreements between co-heirs
- Undivided co-ownership of estate property
- Claims or debts owed to or by the estate
A single question isn't necessarily a mandate
Many estate situations are resolved with the right answer at the right moment rather than with proceedings. If you simply need to know where you stand, to understand a document, or to check whether what you're being asked to sign is normal, say so: you don't have to start litigation to get a clear answer.
What a will is actually contested on
Disappointment is not a ground. A will is contested on specific bases, and each one calls for a different kind of proof.
- Capacity of the testator
- The person had to understand what they were signing. A diagnosis of dementia does not settle the question on its own: what matters is their state at the precise moment of signing.
- Undue influence
- Someone applied pressure that replaced the testator's will with their own. It is rarely proven directly, it is inferred from isolation, dependence, and an unexplained last-minute change.
- Defect of form
- Each form of will, notarial, before witnesses, holograph, has its own requirements. A holograph will must be written and signed entirely in the testator's own hand.
- Interpretation
- The will is valid, but its wording is ambiguous or leaves property that no longer exists. The dispute is then about what the clause means.
Probate and will searches
A holograph will, or one made before witnesses, has no effect until it has been probated by the court or by a notary. Before that, you need to be certain you have the last one: a search of the registers of testamentary dispositions kept by the Barreau du Québec and by the Chambre des notaires reveals whether a more recent will exists, the one that revokes all the others.
It is a step people skip, and it collapses entire liquidations when a later document surfaces afterwards.
The liquidator's account
A liquidator administers the property of others. They owe an accounting, and heirs have the right to obtain it.
- Inventory never drawn up, or never shared
- Refusal to provide statements and supporting documents
- Property sold without consultation or justification
- Liquidator in a conflict of interest
- Fees and expenses you dispute
- Replacing the liquidator
Accepting or renouncing
An estate can be insolvent. Once made, this choice is hard to undo, and some acts amount to acceptance without your realising it.
- Estates where debts exceed assets
- Effect of the inventory on your liability
- Acts that amount to tacit acceptance
- Renunciation and the form it requires
- Creditors pursuing the heirs
- Partition, undivided ownership, and ending it
The delays that matter
An estate imposes a calendar from the date of death. The liquidator must draw up the inventory within the months that follow, heirs have a delay in which to exercise their option, and claims against a will or against a liquidator prescribe like any civil claim, generally after three years.
What is particular to estates is that nobody wants to be the person who takes a grieving family to court. So people wait, out of consideration, and the delay runs while they do. Asking early commits you to nothing: it simply keeps your options open longer.
What to gather before we speak
- The will, if you have a copy, and any earlier will
- The death certificate
- The will searches, if they have been done
- The inventory, if one was drawn up
- Exchanges with the liquidator or the notary
- What you know of the assets: property, accounts, insurance policies
A life insurance policy does not necessarily form part of the estate, and that is precisely what creates the dispute. See the insurance side as well.
Frequently asked questions — estates
How long do I have to contest a will?
The limitation period is generally three years, but when it starts depends on the ground raised and when the heir learned of the relevant facts. Because liquidation continues in the meantime and assets may be distributed, waiting complicates the claim even where it remains admissible.
The liquidator refuses to account to me. What can I do?
A liquidator owes specific duties to the heirs, including accounting for the administration. A dated written request is the first step: it establishes when the refusal began. If the silence continues, a court can compel the liquidator to account and, in some cases, replace them.
Can a will be contested if the deceased lacked capacity?
Incapacity at the time of drafting is a recognised ground, as are captation and undue influence. These claims rest almost entirely on evidence: medical records, testimony from those close to the deceased, and the circumstances around the signing. The strength of the file is judged on that, not on general impression.
How long does liquidation take?
A simple, uncontested estate often settles in under a year. A property to sell, a tax debt, an heir who cannot be found, or disagreement among heirs will extend that considerably. A liquidation stalled for more than a year is worth examining.
An estate that's blocked or contested?
A 30-minute initial call, at $150 plus taxes, to understand your position and the deadlines that apply.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice.