With a person’s death comes a plethora of action items for executors to attend to early on, including arranging the funeral, ascertaining, gathering and preserving the assets, cancelling contracts, redirecting mail, paying expenses and liabilities, and the list goes on. 

With applications for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee With or Without a Will (probate) taking time to put together and file with the courts, and with court offices often taking weeks or months to process the applications, it may be several months or a year or more before an estate trustee can access any or sufficient estate funds to move the administration forward. These delays may be compounded if the estate is the subject of litigation.

Though financial institutions may permit the release of funds before probate has been obtained to pay discrete expenses (e.g., funeral costs, probate fees etc.), having probate issued by the court is in many cases the only way to guarantee an executor full and free access to the assets. The unfortunate result in the early stages of an administration is that an estate trustee may feel compelled to personally cover certain estate expenses and await reimbursement later.

One option to ease the pressure for executors is by way of an estate loan. HEIRassure has announced that it is offering estate loans to executors in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. These loans are designed to cover expenses while the estate trustee is waiting for the grant of probate, and include loans that may be needed to pay for legal retainers and funeral expenses. The application process is accessible here.

Another lending option to consider is with BridgePoint Financial, whose loans are available to executors, and also include inheritance advances to beneficiaries. The application form is accessible here.

It is helpful to know that estate solicitors can direct clients to these resources in times of need.

Thanks for reading and have a great day,

Natalia Angelini