Solicitor’s Tip – August 2025
There is an expectation that, within a year of obtaining probate, estate assets will be gathered, investments realized, residuary property liquidated, and legacies distributed.[1] To help estate trustees meet this general deadline for the administration of a simple estate while juggling a busy practice, counsel may wish to consider using new technology or software designed for estate administrations, or utilizing artificial intelligence (“AI”) to make estate administrations more efficient.[2] This month’s Solicitor’s Tip focuses specifically on different tools that counsel can use to facilitate estate administrations, and also explores the potential perils of utilizing such tools.
Estate Administration Platforms for Lawyers and Law Firms
There are a variety of online platforms and software programs that counsel can use to handle various elements of estate administrations in Ontario, including Estateably,[3] Estate-A-Base,[4] and EstateExec.[5] Whereas Estateably and Estate-A-Base are meant to be used specifically by lawyers, EstateExec contemplates a broader range of clientele, including estate trustees directly and their lawyers; in fact, both can use the platform to work together during an estate administration.[6]
While not all platforms offer the same tools and services, broadly speaking, they can be used in the following ways:[7]
- Document generation: The Estateably website notes that it can automatically generate documents needed to apply for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee once client information has been uploaded,[8] and can also be used to generate other documents necessary for estate administrations, including a legally valid online notice to creditors,[9] and correspondence.
- Task management: Most platforms offer lists of tasks that must be completed as part of an estate administration, or can create customized task lists.
- Estate accounting: Estateably and EstateExec both offer tools for estate accounting. More specifically, EstateExec indicates that it can calculate an estate’s overall value; track income, expenses, transactions, and distributions; and compute executor compensation. Estateably’s accounting functionality, in comparison, includes “a PDF extraction tool that scans client bank statements, extracts transactions, and seamlessly uploads them.”[10]
- Managing estate inventory: Estateably has the ability to automate inventory management, such as calculating currency conversions salient to an estate and offering integrated securities price lookups that minimize the need for manual research.[11] Estate-A-Base also has a comprehensive inventory management module,[12] whereas EstateExec has different tools related to inventory management that focus on determining the value of estate assets and selling those assets.[13]
- Accounting reports: Many estate administration platforms have the capacity to generate estate accounts using court-approved formatting,[14] saving counsel and their staff from having to prepare estate accounts manually. Alternatively, these platforms can also prepare more informal accounting reports, if desired.
For lawyers looking for another option, it is also possible to use general generative AI platforms like ChatGPT to complete some of the functions listed above. When asked “How could I use generative AI to help administer an estate?”, ChatGPT listed a number of estate administration tasks that it can assist with, including preparing an inventory of estate assets, drafting correspondence, creating a checklist of tasks related to an estate administration, tracking relevant deadlines, and valuing estate assets.[15]
Potential Perils of Working With New Technology
While using a general generative AI platform may be appealing – for example, because such platforms can be used to complete a variety of tasks, or are more cost-effective – working with technology designed specifically for estate administrations may be preferable for a number of reasons.[16] Such programs are likely more trustworthy when it comes to completing documents properly, particularly documents that must be filed in court, recognizing that general generative AI tools have been known to fabricate information that appears authentic or to mischaracterize real data.[17] Using general generative AI may also result in a breach of client privacy – depending on the platform’s privacy settings, there is a risk that any confidential information input into a generative AI tool “may inadvertently become public or be otherwise inappropriately shared with third parties.”[18] If counsel does choose to rely on a general generative AI platform to assist with estate administrations, it is important to check how information uploaded into the program may be shared, and whether it is possible to change the privacy settings.
Lastly, whenever lawyers work with a technological platform during estate administrations, we will be responsible for overseeing the work generated, regardless of which platform is chosen. It is not advisable to simply rely on the product generated by a software program or an AI platform without reviewing it to ensure that it is correct. As noted by the Law Society’s White Paper focused on AI, “[l]icensees are responsible for ensuring their work products are competently produced. Generative AI is a tool that can assist a licensee in producing such a product; however, it is the licensee’s express obligation to ensure that it meets that standard.”[19] Moreover, counsel may also be required to disclose to the client which products are being used to assist with administering the estate.[20]
Conclusion
To help clients administer estates effectively within the executor’s year, solicitors may wish to consider using software and online platforms designed to facilitate estate administrations. There are a variety of options on the market – Estateably and Estate-A-Base are intended specifically to assist lawyers, whereas EstateExec is being marketed as a tool that can be used by both estate trustees and lawyers. Lastly, it may also be possible to use general generative AI programs to assist with estate administrations. Should counsel choose to use any of these platforms, it is important to double check the work product for accuracy, and to ensure that confidentiality will not be undermined if client information is uploaded to the platform. It may also be prudent to advise the client that an online platform, software, or generative AI is being used to help administer the estate and to confirm their instructions to do so before using such tools.
[1] This period is often referred to as the “executor’s year.” See Korsch v Hildebrandt, 2023 ONSC 2513 at para 33; Veiga v Veiga, 2022 ONSC 6994 at para. 93; Kinley Estate v. MacKeen,2023 NSSC 83 at para 21 (personal representative must not delay unreasonably in settling an estate). But see Simpson v Simpson,2021 MBQB 162 at para 151 (may take more than a year to resolve estate).
[2] The Law Society of Ontario has noted that “[t]he increased use of generative AI products presents opportunities to provide more efficient services. All licensees are encouraged to experiment with these products and determine how they might be useful in their practice.” See Law Society of Ontario, Licensee use of generative artificial intelligence, White Paper (April 2024), online: <https://lawsocietyontario-dwd0dscmayfwh7bj.a01.azurefd.net/media/lso/media/lawyers/practice-supports-resources/white-paper-on-licensee-use-of-generative-artificial-intelligence-en.pdf> [AI White Paper].
[3] Online: <https://www.estateably.com/>.
[4] See online: <https://customerservice.dyedurham.com/hc/en-ca/categories/200056570-Estate-a-Base>.
[5] Online: <https://www.estateexec.com/ca/>.
[6] Please note that it is beyond the purview of this Tip to recommend any one platform. To see how the services offered by Estateably compare to Estate-A-Basis, see “Estateably vs. Dye & Durham’s Estate-A-Base: Why Professionals Choose Estateably” (28 June 2024), online: Estateably <https://www.estateably.com/blog/estateably-vs-dye-durhams-estate-a-base-why-professionals-choose-estateably> [“Estateably vs. Dye & Durham’s Estate-A-Base”].
[7] This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but is instead meant to be demonstrative of tasks that can be performed using online estate administration platforms.
[8] It appears that EstateExec does not have this capability, although it directs users to the necessary forms that must be completed to apply for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee. It also appears that court forms are automatically updated in Estate-A-Base; see “Estateably vs. Dye & Durham’s Estate-A-Base,” supra note 6.
[9] See “Estateably Launches Digital Notice to Creditors Application, Enabling Executors to Streamline Probate Requirements” (11 April 2025), online: Estateably <https://www.estateably.com/news/estateably-launches-digital-notice-to-creditors-application-enabling-executors-to-streamline-probate-requirements>.
[10] “Estateably vs. Dye & Durham’s Estate-A-Base,” supra note 6.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] See the Key Duties in EstateExec’s Executor’s Guide, online: <https://www.estateexec.com/ca/Docs/Key_Duties>.
[14] Ensuring that estate accounts are prepared using court-approved formatting is essential; see Mayer v Rubin et al., 2023 ONSC 4214 at para 105.
[15] ChatGPT also indicated that it could assist by summarizing local probate requirements and looking up relevant case law, and summarizing and extracting key data from PDFs or scanned documents, such as bank and financial statements. See ChatGPT, online: <https://chatgpt.com/>.
[16] See AI White Paper, supra note 2 at 9, which addresses the importance of choosing the right generative AI product to complete tasks.
[17] Ibid at 6. The Paper also notes that “the risk of receiving fake or inaccurate outputs will vary depending on what tool a licensee is using and what the licensee is using that tool for.”
[18] See AI White Paper, supra note 2 at 6. The LSO encourages counsel to “ensure that they understand the privacy and data security settings of the tool that they are using and its limitations”: at 10.
[19] AI White Paper, supra note 2 at 9, 11: “If work is created using generative AI, it remains the responsibility of the licensee to ensure that it is their product and reflects their expert legal opinion.”
[20] AI White Paper, supra note 2 at 17. Factors to consider when determining whether to disclose the use of generative AI include whether its use must be disclosed publicly, whether the client reasonably expects the material being prepared by generative AI to be prepared by a lawyer instead, whether there are risks to the client that could arise from the use of generative AI, and whether the use of generative AI requires input of the client’s personal or proprietary information.