3. Tell others about the death

As estate trustee, you have to inform people, companies and government agencies that the person died.

So, for example, you may need to do things like:

• tell Service Canada to stop Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Old Age Security (OAS) payments
• tell the local Ontario Works office to stop income assistance, or tell Ontario Disability Support Program to stop disability insurance payments
• tell companies the person had assets with that they died, for example, investments, pensions, and life insurance policies
• cancel the person's driver's licence, passport, Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card, and social insurance registration
• close personal accounts such as credit cards, cell phone plans and memberships or online accounts

You also need to tell the person's bank about the death. Any accounts only in the person's name usually cannot be accessed until you get a certificate appointing you as estate trustee.

If the person lived in a rental unit as the only tenant, you also need to tell the landlord.