Probate is the process to have the Supreme Court approve the validity of Will. Of course, the Court only knows what it is told, and people often misunderstand what is needed for a smooth and uneventful estate administration when the Will is drafted. It is important to consider all what-ifs when drafting to reduce if not prevent probate problems.
A Will can be found to be valid but there can still be problems eg doubt that it is the Last Will & Testament ("Will"), the wording is not clear about who are the administrators or beneficiaries, and the net residue is not all distributed after all debts are paid.
There are many tasks to be completed before the Executor's responsibilities and liabilities are ended, and none can be started until an estate administrator (executor) has been officially recognized so that they have the authority to deal with all estate creditors and asset holders eg banks. Too often Wills lack either a clear naming of an Executor or there is no alternate named to replace the named Executor who is not available for any number of reasons.
The estate administration process normally takes a year or more, as the estate administrator (executor) must file the deceased's last tax return and obtain a clearance certificate from the CRA before distributing the estate. Of course the CRA is just one of the estate creditors who all have to be paid before the beneficiaries receive their inheritance otherwise the Executor can be personally liable to the creditors.
