Estate Representative

• The Estate Administration Tax Act includes a definition of a person responsible for representing the deceased person's estate for the purposes of registering the value of the estate with the courts and paying the administration tax required by the act. Section 1 of the act states that if the deceased person left a will, the executor or administrator named in the will can be an estate representative, as can any person who is entitled to act in either of those capacities. If the deceased person's estate is held in trust, any trustee of the estate can act as an estate representative. A beneficiary of the estate may also act as an estate representative.
  
  

Estate Certificate

• An estate certificate is a grant of probate issued by the courts if the application was made prior to Jan. 1, 1995. An estate certificate can also confirm the appointment of a trustee for an estate held in trust for applications made after Dec. 31, 1994. The amount of estate administration tax that must be paid depends upon when the application for an estate certificate is made. For example, Section 2 (6) of the act states that if the application is made after June 7, 1992, $5 is paid for every $1,000 dollars value, up to $50,000. For every $1,000 after $50,000, the tax is set at $15. If additional property that belongs to the estate is discovered after the estate certificate is issued, a statement stating the value of the additional property must be presented to the court, and tax relating to this additional property must be paid at the same time.
  
  

Payment of Tax

• The estate representative is responsible for paying the estate administration tax to the court, and this must be paid over to court official when the representative makes an application for the court to issue an estate certificate relating to the estate. The tax given over to the court at this time must be equal to the amount that will eventually become due on the estate, and according to Section 3(5) of the act, the amount deposited is offset against the tax liability of the estate. The estate representative can present an estimated value for the estate when applying for an estate certificate and must pay estate administration tax based on the estimated value. If the estimated value of the estate turns out to be higher than the actual value of the estate, the court will issue a partial refund of the tax paid to the value of the overpayment.
  
  

Recovery of Tax

• If an estate representative makes a tax deposit with the court based on an estimated estate value, the representative must sign an undertaking to file a statement within six months, which includes the true value of the estate. The representative must also undertake to pay any additional tax at this time if the actual value of the estate is greater than the estimated value. If the representative does not file the true value of the estate within six months, the court may issue a compliance order against the representative. If necessary, the Minister of Finance is responsible for bringing proceedings against an estate representative who has not complied with a written undertaking to recover the tax that is due.