4. Send the probate application and pay tax 

Send your probate application and what is owed in estate administration tax to the Estate Registrar at the Superior Court of Justice. You send it to the court in the area where the person lived or owned real property.

You need to send originals or certified copies of certain documents, for example, the original will and death certificate. These must be sent to the court by mail or in person.

But your application and other supporting documents can be sent by email, mail, courier, or given in person.  If you email documents to the court, you must follow all the rules about filing documents electronically in probate applications.

It may be best not to mail documents, especially original documents. There's always a risk they may get lost in the mail.

Pay the estate administration tax

You must pay the estate administration tax with your application. This tax is often called probate tax or probate fees. It's paid with money from the estate.

You can pay the probate fees in person at the court office, or by mail or courier, using a bank draft or certified cheque. Sometimes you can pay by cash or debit in person. It's best not to send the probate fee by mail in case it gets lost.

Probate fees are based on how much the estate is worth. In Ontario, there are no probate fees on the first $50,000 in an estate. After that amount, the fee is $15 for every $1,000.

Use the government's estate administration tax calculator to find out the probate fees the estate has to pay.

Get legal help if you have trouble accessing money from the estate to pay the probate tax.