If you have been served with a notice of application to pass accounts and you disagree with what the estate trustee has filed, you object by serving a Notice of Objection to Accounts (Form 74.45) on the applicant and filing it with proof of service at least 35 days before the hearing date specified in the notice of application, under rule 74.18(7). The court fee is $93. A separate 30-day deadline applies to the Children's Lawyer and the Public Guardian and Trustee under rule 74.18(8.3), and doing nothing at all has consequences beyond losing the objection. This article is about objecting to accounts on a passing. Objecting to a probate application itself, before any certificate issues, is a different procedure with a different form and a different deadline.
What Is the Timeline?
The deadlines run backwards from the hearing date on the notice of application, which is set when the court issues it. Working backwards is the only reliable way to use them.
| Step | Deadline | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Estate trustee serves the notice of application on a person in Ontario | At least 60 days before the hearing | 74.44 |
| Estate trustee serves a person outside Ontario | At least 75 days before the hearing | 74.44 |
| Objector serves and files a notice of objection to accounts | At least 35 days before the hearing | 74.45 |
| Children's Lawyer or Public Guardian and Trustee responds | At least 30 days before the hearing | 74.45, 74.45.1, 74.46 or 74.46.1 |
| A person served serves and files a request for costs | At least 10 days before the hearing | 74.49 |
| An objector withdraws an objection | At least 15 days before the hearing | 74.48 |
| Estate trustee files for judgment without a hearing | At least 5 days before the hearing | 74.47 |
The 35-day and 30-day deadlines are frequently reported as one figure. They are two subrules doing two different jobs. Rule 74.18(7) governs an ordinary person with a vested or contingent interest, and gives 35 days. Rule 74.18(8.3) governs the Children's Lawyer and the Public Guardian and Trustee where they have been served as representing someone, gives 30 days, and offers a choice of four responses: object, request further notice, confirm no objection, or file a notice of non-participation.
If you do nothing, you lose more than the objection. Under rule 74.18(8.2), a person served who files neither a notice of objection to accounts nor a request for further notice is not entitled to receive notice of any further step in the application, to receive any further document in it, or, if there is a hearing, to be heard, examine a witness or cross-examine on an affidavit. The estate trustee can then seek judgment without a hearing by filing the supporting material at least five days beforehand.
Where you have questions but not yet an objection, the request for further notice on Form 74.45.1 keeps you in the proceeding without committing you to a contested position. It is the underused middle option.
What Can You Actually Object To?
A notice of objection does two things: it raises issues and it asks questions. It is not limited to allegations of wrongdoing. Objections commonly go to the quantum or timing of particular expenses, the basis on which an asset was valued or sold, transactions the objector cannot follow from the accounts as filed, and the compensation the estate trustee is claiming.
Compensation is a common subject of objection, and it is worth understanding what the argument is actually about before making it. The tariff applies 2.5 percent to each of capital receipts, capital disbursements, revenue receipts and revenue disbursements, landing near 5 percent, and is then adjusted by five factors including the size of the estate, the care and responsibility involved, the time occupied, the skill shown, and the success achieved. Our guide to estate trustee compensation sets out how the calculation works. An objection built on the five factors is a real argument; an objection that the amount simply feels high is not.
A notice of objection often seeks production, including receipts and proof of payment, so that the objector can satisfy themselves about how the estate was managed. This is legitimate and it is frequently the entire point.
Raise everything you intend to argue. No objection may be raised at the hearing that was not raised in the notice of objection, subject to the court's discretion. A notice drafted narrowly to seem reasonable can leave the real issue unarguable.
What Rights Do You Have Before the Accounts Arrive?
Beneficiary accounting rights scale with the interest held. A residuary beneficiary, whose share is affected by every transaction, is entitled to a fuller accounting than someone receiving a fixed legacy that will be paid in full regardless.
You can compel a passing. A person with a financial interest may move for an order requiring an estate trustee to pass accounts, under the orders for assistance provisions in rule 74.15. This is the remedy where an estate trustee has gone quiet rather than produced something objectionable. Our guide to an executor who is not communicating or distributing sets out the escalation ladder, and moving to compel a passing sits near the top of it.
There is no settled limitation period for compelling a passing, although the obligation is not perpetual (Hipel Estate, Re, 2011 ONSC 5259). Delay is a factor rather than a bar.
How Should an Objection Be Prepared?
Get the accounts and read them against the estate you know about. Court-form accounts separate capital and revenue, receipts and disbursements. The structure is unfamiliar at first and worth the time.
Identify what is missing rather than only what looks wrong. An asset you expected to see and cannot find is a stronger starting point than a disbursement you dislike.
Separate the categories. Questions that need an answer, expenses that need a receipt, valuations that need a basis, and decisions you say should not have been made are four different kinds of objection and the court treats them differently.
Test each item for proportionality. An objection to a $40 courier charge on a $900,000 estate will not improve your position.
Draft the notice to cover everything you may argue, since matters not raised in it may not be available at the hearing.
Serve and file at least 35 days before the hearing, with proof of service and the $93 fee. If you are not ready to object but want to stay in the proceeding, file a request for further notice on Form 74.45.1 instead.
Expect a reply. The estate trustee may respond on Form 74.49.4, and many objections are resolved at that stage without a contested hearing.
Our guide to the passing of accounts process covers the procedure from the estate trustee's side, which is worth reading alongside this if you are deciding whether to object.
Where This Goes Wrong
Objecting to everything. The court may take the reasonableness of the objections into account, and there can be costs consequences for an objector who raises unnecessary challenges, including objections to minor or ordinary expenses. A focused objection to three substantial items carries considerably more weight than forty objections that include the postage.
Missing the 35 days because a shorter figure was relied on. The 30-day deadline is the one applying to the Children's Lawyer and the Public Guardian and Trustee under rule 74.18(8.3). An ordinary beneficiary who files on day 32 is late.
Using the objection as a proxy for a different grievance. A passing of accounts examines the administration. It is not the forum for arguing that the will is invalid, that a gift was unfair, or that a lifetime transfer should be set aside. Those are separate proceedings, and running them through an accounts objection tends to produce a costs award rather than a remedy.
Assuming an objection stops the distribution. Filing an objection puts the accounts in issue. It does not by itself halt the administration, and where the objection concerns a discrete item the balance of the administration can continue.
Staying silent and expecting to appear anyway. Rule 74.18(8.2) removes the right to notice of further steps, to further documents, and to be heard at a hearing from a person who filed neither an objection nor a request for further notice. Turning up on the hearing date is not a substitute for having responded.
Not asking for the underlying documents first. A short letter requesting receipts and statements sometimes resolves the whole question, and it costs nothing. Where it does not, the correspondence itself demonstrates that the objection was a considered step rather than a reflex, which is relevant when costs are addressed.
Treating the hearing date as the deadline. It is the anchor, not the deadline. Every date that matters runs backwards from it, and the objection window closes more than a month before.
If you have been served with accounts and are deciding whether to object, or an estate trustee has not accounted at all, you can book a free call to work out which remedy fits and what the timeline is.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to object to an executor's accounts in Ontario?
At least 35 days before the hearing date specified in the notice of application, under rule 74.18(7). You serve the Notice of Objection to Accounts, Form 74.45, on the applicant and file it with proof of service. The court fee is $93. The shorter deadline that appears in some material is the 30 days given to the Children's Lawyer and the Public Guardian and Trustee under rule 74.18(8.3), which does not apply to an ordinary beneficiary.
What form do I use to object to estate accounts?
Form 74.45, Notice of Objection to Accounts. It is a different form and a different procedure from Form 75.1, the Notice of Objection used to oppose a probate application before a certificate issues. The two are frequently confused: Form 75.1 blocks a certificate from being issued, carries a $94 fee, and expires three years after filing, while Form 74.45 challenges the accounts of a trustee who has already been appointed.
Can I object if the executor has not filed any accounts?
That is a different remedy. Where an estate trustee has not passed accounts at all, a person with a financial interest can move for an order requiring them to do so, under the orders for assistance provisions in rule 74.15. There is no settled limitation period for compelling a passing, although the obligation is not perpetual, and delay can be taken into account.
Will I have to pay costs if I object and lose?
Costs on a passing of accounts are discretionary, and the court can take into account whether the objections were reasonable. An objector who raises unnecessary challenges, particularly to minor or ordinary expenses, can face a costs consequence. An objection that is focused, proportionate to the estate, and supported by a genuine gap in the accounts is treated very differently from a comprehensive one.
Can I object only to the executor's compensation?
Yes, and it is among the most commonly objected-to items. The argument that works is built on the five factors the courts use to adjust the tariff: the size of the estate, the care and responsibility involved, the time occupied, the skill and ability shown, and the success achieved. Compensation authority comes from the will, the consent of the beneficiaries, or the court, so the first question is always whether the will already fixes it.
What happens after I file my objection?
The estate trustee may serve a reply on Form 74.49.4, and a substantial proportion of objections are resolved at that stage, often because the objection was really a request for documents. Where the matter is not resolved it proceeds as a contested passing, and the court can order a trial of the application or of an issue in it, or order mediation. A judgment on a contested passing is issued on Form 74.51. If you later decide not to pursue the objection, a notice of withdrawal on Form 74.48 is served and filed at least 15 days before the hearing.
This article provides general information about Ontario law and is not legal advice. Speak with a lawyer about your specific circumstances.