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In an increasingly complex world, the Financial Post should be the first place you look for answers. Our FP Answers initiative puts readers in the driver’s seat: you submit questions and our reporters find answers not just for you, but for all our readers. Today, we answer a question from Lucia about accessing an estate if the executor is not responding.

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Q. I am listed as the sole beneficiary to my Uncle Zach’s estate, valued at about $500,000. My Uncle died six months ago and I have not heard anything from the executor, who is a friend of my Uncle’s. I know that on some of my uncle’s bank accounts, I am listed as beneficiary, but on a couple of them I am not. I’m also not sure if there was a life insurance policy, but I think there was, in a small amount — about $10,000 — to cover his funeral. When I ask questions from the executor, I am not answered. At what point is it appropriate to get my own lawyer to look into these things for me and to give me an outline and timeline on asset distribution? —Lucia M.

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FP Answers: Lucia, you did not mention where your uncle lived and died. The estate customs and rules in his jurisdiction apply. In Toronto, for example, the estate courts are still, for various reasons including staffing issues and court system underfunding, working restricted pandemic-like hours. This has created a court backlog to issue estate certificates. These certificates are required to collect estate assets.

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Before COVID-19, courts referred to an “executor’s year.” This allowed executors to distribute estates within one year of a person’s death. However, this rule may no longer apply. It can take months to obtain court estate certificates to collect or sell assets. It is now difficult to predict how long it can take to close estates.

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It can take weeks or months before executors can prepare estate inventories for your uncle’s estate. Inventories are required to calculate provincial Estate Administration Tax (EAT) in Ontario in order to obtain estate certificates. This task can cause delays.

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Privacy laws prevent financial institutions from identifying the beneficiaries of certain designated assets. Executors do not control designated assets, like life insurance, unless there is no person named as a beneficiary. The executor may not disclose private information about beneficiaries. The executor may not yet have obtained legal advice to deal with these issues. You may possibly be able to collect the life insurance and designated assets that show you as the beneficiary. The estate may challenge some designations if any financial institution records are inconsistent or are contradicted by your uncle’s will.

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I suggest that you personally put your requests in writing to the executor. This executor may not have answers yet but should not ignore reasonable requests for information. Speak to the executor’s lawyer if you need quick answers and want to know if an estate certificate was received.

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If you are designated as beneficiary of certain assets, ask that these items be identified. You can then contact the financial institutions directly to collect these assets. You may need a funeral director’s certificate to prove your uncle passed.

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Are there any disputes over any designations? Are any joint accounts with survivorship rights disputed so they do not pass to you by rights of survivorship? If so, you may need to hire your own lawyer to protect your entitlement to these items.

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Edward Olkovich is an Ontario lawyer at MrWills.com. He is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in estates and trusts law. This information does not substitute for legal advice.

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