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Legal representative

You are the legal representative of a deceased person if:

you are named as the executor in the will;
you are appointed as the administrator of the estate by a court; or
you are the liquidator for an estate in Quebec.

As the legal representative, you should provide us with the deceased’s date of death as soon as possible. To keep our records up to date, send us the following information:

a complete copy of the death certificate; and

a copy of the will or other legal document (letters of administration or a grant of probate) that shows you are the legal representative.

Include this information with the final return if you did not send it right after the deceased’s death.

Note
We do not administer the social insurance number (SIN) program. However, Social Development Canada (formerly Human Resources Development Canada) should be advised of the deceased's date of death. You can find the phone number in the government section of your telephone book.

Under the Income Tax Act, as the legal representative, it is your responsibility to:

file all required returns for the deceased;

pay all taxes owing; and

let the beneficiaries know which of the amounts they receive from the estate are taxable.

As the legal representative, you are responsible for filing a return for the deceased for the year of death. This return is called the Final return.

You also have to file any returns for previous years that the deceased person did not file. If the person did not leave records about these returns, or if you cannot tell from existing records whether or not the returns were filed, contact us. If you have to file a return for a year before the year of death, use a T1 General Income Tax and Benefit Return for that year.

You have to file a T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return, for income of the estate earned after the date of death. If the terms of a trust were established by the will or a court order in relation to the deceased individual’s estate under provincial or territorial dependant relief or support law, you also have to file a T3 Trust Income Tax and Information Return for that trust.

Note
You may not have to file a T3 return (not to be confused with the final return, which always has to be filed) if the estate is distributed immediately after the person dies, or if the estate did not earn income before the distribution. In these cases, you should give each beneficiary a statement showing his or her share of the estate. See the T3 Trust Guide, for more information and, where a trust is created, to determine whether that return has to be filed. See Chart 2 to find out what income to report on the T3 return.

As the legal representative, you may need information from the deceased person's tax records. Before we can give you this information, we will need the following:

a copy of the death certificate;

the deceased’s social insurance number; and

a copy of the will, trust agreement, or letters of administration that shows you are the legal representative.

If you visit us to get information from the tax records of the deceased, you also have to show us one piece of identification with your picture and signature on it, or two pieces with your signature on them.

When you write for such information, include the words “The Estate of the Late” in front of the deceased person’s name.

You should also provide your address so that we can reply directly to you. Send this information to your tax services office or tax centre.

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Date modified: 2006-01-01	Top of page	Important notices