How Long Settling an Estate Takes, and What It Costs

At the funeral, someone always ends up asking quietly how long this is going to take. The instinctive answer is "a few weeks, just time to do the paperwork." The realistic answer, in Québec, is counted in months — and for an estate with a property, a family dispute or a will to probate, in years.

This is not pointless administrative slowness. Every step exists to protect someone: the heirs against the deceased's debts, the creditors against a premature distribution, the tax authorities against an estate emptied out before the tax is paid. But when there is a mortgage to pay and a funeral to settle, those protections feel like waiting.

Here is what takes time, what it costs, and where the money comes from in the meantime.

The time limits the law imposes

Some deadlines are not negotiable. They are written into the Civil Code of Québec, and no amount of family goodwill shortens them.

Six months to decide. Article 632 gives the successor six months, from the day their right arose, to deliberate and exercise their option — accept the succession or renounce it. That period is extended by operation of law by the number of days needed for them to have 60 days from the closure of the inventory.

Sixty more days for the inventory. Article 800 provides that heirs who, knowing that the liquidator — Québec's term for what the rest of Canada calls an executor — is neglecting to make an inventory, themselves neglect to proceed with it or to apply to the court within 60 days following the expiry of the six-month period for deliberation, become liable for the debts of the succession beyond the value of the property they receive.

One year to renounce the family patrimony. Article 423 allows a spouse to renounce, in whole or in part, their rights in the family patrimony from the death of their spouse, by notarial act en minute. That renunciation must be registered in the register of personal and movable real rights; failing registration within one year from the day the right to partition arose, the renouncing spouse is deemed to have accepted.

Ninety days per taxation year. Revenu Québec sets the filing deadline for the trust income tax return at 90 days following the end of the estate's taxation year. For as long as the liquidation lasts, the return comes back every year.

Add it up: even an estate with no complications cannot be settled properly in three months. The deliberation period alone takes six.

A realistic timeline

Step	Time to expect	Source
Obtain the copy of the act of death from the Directeur de l'état civil	Varies with the method of application	Directeur de l'état civil
Receive the will search certificate	Mailed within three weeks of the request being received if the death occurred less than two weeks earlier; within two weeks if the death is older	Éducaloi
Expedited processing of the search	Handled within a maximum of three business days, if the person has been dead for more than 20 days	Éducaloi
Have a holograph will or a will made in the presence of witnesses probated	Several weeks, whether through a notary or the court	Éducaloi
Deliberation period for the successors	Six months	Civil Code, article 632
Obtain the tax certificates	Several weeks, even several months	Éducaloi

One point deserves to be highlighted, because it explains why an estate can look frozen without anyone doing anything wrong. Éducaloi writes that throughout the probate process, the estate is necessarily "frozen." You can neither open the estate account, nor close the deceased's accounts, nor sell anything until the probate document is issued.

That is the most concrete consequence of the choice of will form, and it is paid for in weeks.

What it costs

Québec does not levy fees calculated as a percentage of the value of the estate, unlike the practice in several other provinces. The costs of a Québec estate are service fees: searches, probate, professional fees, publications.

Item	Amount	Source
Will search through the single point of entry of the Chambre des notaires and the Barreau	Roughly $30 to $40 depending on the type of service, web or paper	Éducaloi
Expedited processing of the search	Additional fee	Éducaloi
Probate of a will by a notary	Total bill generally more than $1,500	Éducaloi
Probate of a will by the court	Total bill generally more than $1,000	Éducaloi
Preparation of a notarial will, during your lifetime	Generally several hundred dollars	Éducaloi

On top of that come items whose amount depends entirely on the file: the fees of the notary, lawyer or accountant assisting the liquidator, property appraisals, publication of notices, transfer fees and, where applicable, the liquidator's remuneration.

On that last point, article 789 of the Civil Code sets out the logic: the liquidator is entitled to reimbursement of their expenses in all cases; they are entitled to remuneration if they are not an heir; if they are an heir, they may be remunerated only if the will provides for it or if the heirs agree. Failing an agreement, the court fixes it.

And above all, there is the tax. It is almost always the heaviest item, and it appears on no fee schedule: it depends on the deceased's property, the accumulated gains, and what is left to the spouse.

What drives up the bill and the calendar

A few situations come up constantly.

A will that is not notarial. On its own, it adds the search, the probate, the wait for the judgment or the act, and a bill that Éducaloi puts at more than $1,000 or $1,500 depending on the route chosen.

No will at all. Article 785 gives the office of liquidator to the heirs by operation of law, and they may designate a liquidator by majority vote. When the family does not agree, it has to go through the court, and the calendar is recalculated in quarters.

A property. It has to be appraised, insured, heated, sometimes sold — and a sale requires the consent of the heirs or the authorization of the court where the liquidator has only simple administration, under article 804.

Heirs who cannot be found or who live abroad. The liquidator must identify and call in the successors before distributing anything. Éducaloi also points out that a liquidator residing outside Canada may lead the tax authorities to treat the estate as foreign, which can increase the tax burden on the heirs.

An estate that may be insolvent. The inventory then has to be done rigorously, the notice of closure published in the register of personal and movable real rights as well as in a newspaper distributed in the locality of the deceased's last known address, as article 795 requires, and the creditors given time to come forward.

A contestation. A contested will cannot be probated by a notary, Éducaloi specifies: the file moves to the court.

Where the money comes from while you wait

This is the most practical question, and the one least often asked in advance. The expenses arrive immediately; the inheritance does not.

Three sources are generally available.

Urgent expenses paid by the estate. Revenu Québec allows certain urgent expenses to be paid before obtaining the certificate authorizing distribution, provided they do not exceed $12,000: funeral expenses, electricity, heating, insurance, urgent repairs on a property.

The Québec Pension Plan death benefit. According to Retraite Québec, this is a one-time payment with a maximum amount of $2,500. It is paid only if the deceased contributed enough to the plan, and it has to be applied for.

Life insurance paid to a designated beneficiary. Article 2455 of the Civil Code provides that the sum insured payable to a beneficiary does not form part of the succession of the insured. It therefore depends neither on the probate of the will, nor on the tax certificates, nor on agreement among the heirs. In many families, it is the only money genuinely available in the weeks following a death.

The difference between the three is one of timing as much as of amount. The $12,000 ceiling applies only to specific expenses, and the money has to already be in the estate. The QPP benefit requires an application and sufficient contributions. Insurance proceeds paid to a named person, by contrast, go through none of these steps.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a simple estate take in Québec?

There is no official duration. But the deliberation period in article 632 alone is six months, and Éducaloi indicates that obtaining the tax certificates can take several weeks, even several months. An estate with no will to probate, no property and no disagreement is rarely settled in less than a year.

Can an heir receive an advance?

A liquidator who distributes before obtaining the certificate from Revenu Québec becomes personally liable for the amounts owing, up to the value of the property distributed, for a period that is as a general rule four years. That is a risk few well-advised liquidators are willing to take.

Does a notarial will really save money?

It shifts the expense. You pay the notary's fees during your lifetime — generally several hundred dollars according to Éducaloi — and your heirs avoid a probate that the same organization puts at more than $1,000 through the court and more than $1,500 through a notary, plus several weeks with the estate frozen.

Can the house be kept in undivided co-ownership?

Yes, under certain conditions. Article 844 of the Civil Code provides that the continuation of undivided co-ownership may not be granted for a period longer than five years, except with the agreement of all interested persons, and that it may be renewed until the death of the surviving spouse or until the youngest child of the deceased reaches the age of majority.

Who pays if the estate has no cash?

In practice, someone advances the funds and is reimbursed later, or the liquidator has to sell an asset. That is precisely the scenario many people try to avoid by designating a life insurance beneficiary, whose money is paid directly and quickly.

Sources

• Civil Code of Québec, articles 423, 632, 785, 789, 795, 800, 804, 844 and 2455, version current to April 1, 2026: https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fr/document/lc/CCQ-1991 (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Rendre officiel un testament non notarié : la vérification": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/rendre-officiel-un-testament-non-notarie-la-verification/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Comment faire une recherche testamentaire ?": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/comment-faire-recherche-testamentaire/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Les trois types de testaments": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/les-trois-types-de-testaments/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Liquider une succession : questions fréquentes": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/liquider-une-succession-questions-frequentes/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Revenu Québec, "Demander un certificat autorisant la distribution des biens de la succession": https://www.revenuquebec.ca/fr/citoyens/votre-situation/liquidateur-de-succession/demander-un-certificat-autorisant-la-distribution-des-biens-de-la-succession/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Revenu Québec, "Délais de production de la ou des déclarations de revenus": https://www.revenuquebec.ca/fr/citoyens/votre-situation/liquidateur-de-succession/produire-la-ou-les-declarations-de-revenus-de-la-personne-decedee/delais-de-production-de-la-ou-des-declarations-de-revenus/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Retraite Québec, Québec Pension Plan death benefit: https://www.retraitequebec.gouv.qc.ca/ (accessed August 10, 2026)

This text presents general information about Québec law. It is not legal, tax or insurance advice. For your own situation, consult a notary or a tax specialist.