A practical guide for Canadian executors (or estate trustees) and their advisors on resealing a Canadian grant of probate for use in England and Wales. We cover provincial variations, the documents required, the Canadian-specific tax interaction, and the practical issues that come up most often.
Where a person has died in Canada leaving assets in England and Wales - most commonly a UK property, UK bank accounts, a UK pension, or UK-listed shares - the Canadian grant of probate (or local equivalent) does not, by itself, give the executors authority to deal with those assets. UK asset holders will require an English grant before releasing funds or transferring title.
In most cases, the executors do not need to apply for a fresh English grant. The Colonial Probates Act 1892 (as extended by subsequent Application Orders) allows a grant issued by a Canadian court to be "resealed" by the Probate Registry in England and Wales - turning it into a document that English asset holders will accept. The resealed grant gives the executors named in the original grant the authority they need to administer the UK assets directly.
This article sets out the process, the documents required, how the position varies by Canadian province, and the practical issues that come up most often. We assist executors based in Canada with the entire process remotely. For background on the resealing process across all Commonwealth jurisdictions, see our main page on resealing a foreign grant of probate.
Which Canadian provinces are covered?
All Canadian provinces and territories are covered by the Colonial Probates Act Application Orders. A grant of probate (or its provincial equivalent) issued by the Superior Court of any of the following can be resealed in England and Wales:
- Ontario
- Quebec
- British Columbia
- Alberta
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- Nova Scotia
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Prince Edward Island
- Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut
However, the terminology and process varies materially between provinces, and for Quebec in particular there are structural differences that affect what document is actually available for resealing. We address the position province by province below.
Canadian terminology - what is the "grant" called in your province?
One of the first sources of confusion in Canadian reseal matters is the difference in terminology between provinces. The document that gets resealed in England and Wales will have different names depending on where it was issued:
Ontario: Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee (With or Without a Will). Formerly known as "letters probate" (with a Will) or "letters of administration" (without a Will).
Quebec: Quebec operates under the civil law rather than the common law and does not use a grant of probate in the conventional sense. Instead, probate is typically established by a notarial Will (which is self-proving and requires no court grant) or by a court-issued "probate judgment" or “judgment of probate” for non-notarial Wills. The resealing process for Quebec estates has specific requirements - see below.
British Columbia: Grant of probate (with a Will) or grant of administration (without a Will), issued by the Supreme Court of BC.
Alberta: Grant of probate or grant of administration, issued by the Court of King's Bench.
Other provinces: terminology broadly mirrors BC and Alberta, with minor variations.
Whichever document was issued, the English Probate Registry's requirements are broadly the same: a court-sealed and certified copy of the original grant, plus a certified copy of the Will.
Is the Canadian grant capable of being resealed?
In most cases, yes. A few preliminary points to confirm before proceeding:
- The Canadian grant (or provincial equivalent) must have been issued, not merely applied for. The English application requires a court-sealed and certified copy of the issued document.
- The grant must name living executors or estate trustees who are willing to act. Where a named executor has since died or is unable to act, the position needs to be addressed before applying.
- The estate must include UK-situated assets. Where there are no UK assets, no English grant is needed at all.
- For Quebec estates proceeding on the basis of a notarial Will (with no court grant having been issued in Quebec), a different route may be needed - see the separate section on Quebec below.
Documents required
The following documents are needed for the application to the Probate Registry in England and Wales:
A court-sealed and certified copy of the Canadian grant (or provincial equivalent - Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee in Ontario, grant of probate elsewhere). This is obtained from the Superior Court (or Court of King's Bench in Alberta, etc.) of the province in which the grant was issued. A photocopy of an earlier sealed copy is not sufficient - the English Probate Registry needs a copy bearing the original court seal.
A court-sealed and certified copy of the Will and any codicil. The original Will is almost invariably retained by the issuing Canadian court.
The deceased's death certificate, in original or certified form.
The completed UK inheritance tax form appropriate to the estate. A return must be filed before the application is lodged, even where no UK inheritance tax is payable.
A letter of authority signed by the personal representatives (or estate trustees), authorising the English solicitor to act on their behalf.
The Probate Registry application fee (£300 where the UK estate exceeds £5,000, or no fee where the UK estate is £5,000 or less). Additional sealed copies of the resealed grant are available at £16 per copy.
Canadian documents issued in English (most provinces) do not require translation. Documents issued in French (common in Quebec and to some extent in New Brunswick) will need certified translation before being lodged with the Probate Registry.
Quebec estates - the position is different
Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction (unlike the rest of Canada, which operates under the common law) and the probate process differs structurally from other Canadian provinces. Two of the main variations executors need to be aware of when resealing a Quebec estate for UK purposes:
Notarial Wills. A notarial Will executed before a Quebec notary is "authentic" from the date of execution - no probate process is required in Quebec to prove it. However, because no Canadian court grant has been issued, there is strictly speaking no Quebec grant to reseal in England and Wales. In these cases the executors generally need to apply for a fresh English grant rather than proceeding by way of a reseal.
Non-notarial Wills. For Wills executed without a notary (holograph Wills, or Wills in the English-law form), the Will must be proved (probated) in Quebec before it can be relied on. A probate judgment/judgment for probate is issued by the Quebec Superior Court, and that judgment can be resealed in England and Wales on the same basis as a grant from any other Canadian province.
In practice, the first question on a Quebec estate is whether the Will was notarial or not. For notarial Wills, we advise on the fresh-grant route. For non-notarial Wills, we advise on the resealing route.
Canadian inheritance tax vs UK inheritance tax
Canada and the United Kingdom treat death-related taxation very differently, and the interaction is one of the most common sources of delay and surprise in Canadian reseal matters.
In Canada: there is no inheritance tax as such. Instead, tax arises on death principally through:
Deemed disposition on death: the Canada Revenue Agency treats the deceased as having disposed of their capital assets at fair market value immediately before death, potentially triggering capital gains tax on accrued gains. This is paid by the estate from its resources in Canada.
Provincial probate fees / Estate Administration Tax: levied by each province on grant applications. Rates vary materially - for example, Alberta charges a flat maximum fee of $525, while Ontario charges $15 for every $1,000 of estate value over $50,000 (~1.5%).
In the United Kingdom: inheritance tax applies on the deceased's worldwide estate where the deceased was UK-domiciled or (since April 2025) a "long-term UK resident". For deceaseds who were neither UK-domiciled nor long-term UK resident, UK inheritance tax is confined to the UK-situated assets - typically UK real property, UK bank accounts, UK shares and UK pension interests.
The interaction matters because:
- Canadian capital gains tax paid by the estate in Canada does not offset UK inheritance tax.
- For estates where both taxes apply (typically: deceased was UK-domiciled or long-term UK resident, holding both Canadian and UK assets), relief under the UK–Canada double tax treaty may be available but requires careful analysis.
- The domicile/residence position of the deceased is the critical starting point and should be established at the outset of the instruction.
Whatever the tax position, a UK inheritance tax return must be filed with HMRC before the reseal application is lodged, even where no UK inheritance tax is ultimately payable.
The process - step by step
The typical sequence for a straightforward Canadian reseal:
- Initial review and instruction (week 1). We review the Canadian grant, the Will, the death certificate, and a schedule of UK assets to confirm the reseal route is available and identify any complications. The Canadian executors or estate trustees sign a letter of authority appointing us to act.
- Obtaining sealed copies from Canada (weeks 2–8). The relevant provincial Superior Court issues the sealed and certified copies of the grant and Will. Timing varies materially by province - Ontario is usually responsive within two to four weeks, Alberta and BC similar, while some provinces and territories can take considerably longer, particularly for older grants. We coordinate this directly with the Canadian executors or their Canadian counsel.
- UK inheritance tax return (weeks 4–12, in parallel with step 2). We prepare the relevant UK inheritance tax return based on the UK asset position and the deceased's domicile and residence history. Where IHT is payable, the executors arrange for payment before the return is filed.
- Application to the Probate Registry (weeks 12–14). Once the sealed copies and IHT confirmation are in hand, we lodge the application for the reseal with the Probate Registry, together with the application fee.
- Issue of the resealed grant (weeks 20–30). The Probate Registry currently issues most grants within 16 weeks of application, though this varies. Once issued, the resealed grant is sent to us and we provide certified copies to the UK asset holders.
- Collection and distribution of UK assets (weeks 30–42). With the resealed grant, the UK asset holders release funds or transfer assets in the usual way. We arrange the UK administration and remit funds to the executors for onward distribution under the Canadian estate.
For a straightforward Commonwealth reseal where the Canadian documents are available and no UK inheritance tax is payable, the total elapsed time from instruction to distribution of UK assets is typically five to seven months. Where IHT reporting is required or where documents take longer to obtain, seven to twelve months is more usual.
Practical issues that come up most often
Several issues recur in Canadian reseal matters and are worth flagging early:
Time zones and remote instruction
Executors based in Canada rarely need to travel to the UK for the reseal process. We conduct the entire instruction remotely - initial scoping by video call, document signing by post or via appropriate electronic execution, and ongoing updates by email. Time zone differences between Canada and the UK (five hours between the UK and Eastern Canada, eight hours to the West Coast) make mid-afternoon UK calls a good fit for Eastern Canadian morning.
UK property in the estate
Where the UK estate includes residential property, two further matters arise. The conveyancing of the property - sale or transfer to a beneficiary - sits outside the reseal instruction itself but typically follows directly from it. UK capital gains tax may also arise if the property has appreciated between the date of death and the date of sale. We advise on both as part of the wider UK administration.
UK pension assets
UK pensions are increasingly significant UK assets for Canadian-resident individuals who previously worked in the UK. The treatment depends on the type of pension and the date of death. From April 2027, most UK defined contribution pensions will be brought within the UK inheritance tax net - a material change from the current position. For deaths after that date, the UK pension position will need to be reviewed alongside the wider IHT calculation.
UK shares held by UK registrars or platforms
Where the deceased held shares in UK-listed companies, the registrar will require sight of the resealed grant before transferring or selling. For shares held through a UK nominee or investment platform, the process is similar but typically handled more quickly.
Canadian RRSPs, RRIFs and pensions
The converse also arises. Where the estate includes Canadian registered plans (RRSPs, RRIFs) or pension assets and the UK estate is modest, the UK administration is relatively straightforward - but the Canadian tax treatment of these assets (and any interaction with UK-resident beneficiaries) will need careful handling on the Canadian side. We coordinate with the executors' Canadian counsel or accountants where helpful.
Estates with assets in multiple jurisdictions
It is not uncommon for Canadian estates to include assets in another Commonwealth jurisdiction or in the United States, alongside UK assets. Where the executors hold a Canadian grant, it can typically be resealed in each Commonwealth jurisdiction in turn. US assets will usually require a separate process.
How NSS Legal can help
NSS Legal is a private client firm specialising in cross-border estates and the administration of UK assets for executors based overseas. We are regularly instructed by Canadian executors, Canadian estate-planning counsel, and Canadian-based accountants and financial advisors with UK-asset matters. We work entirely remotely with Canadian-based executors and coordinate with Canadian counsel where required.
Our work is recognised by the Chambers UK guide, and both of our private client directors are full members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Association of Lifetime Lawyers.
To discuss a Canadian reseal matter, please contact Oli or Shamima directly on +44 208 209 1222 or at [email protected]. There is no charge for an initial scoping conversation.
For more on the resealing process generally, see our main service page on resealing a foreign grant of probate. For broader guidance on UK probate and estate administration, see our probate page. For a comparable guide to Australian reseals, see our Australian reseal article.
Or, for guidance on Hong Kong reseals, see our Hong Kong reseal article.