Not all of them, and not the same amount.
Residual beneficiaries – the people who share whatever is left after debts, fees and specific gifts – are entitled to see the entire will and to a full accounting of the estate.
Specific gift recipients – someone left $5,000 or a piece of jewellery – are generally entitled only to know about their own gift, not the rest of the document.
Everyone else, including relatives who expected to be named and were not, has no automatic right to see anything before probate.
There is no “reading of the will”
Nobody gathers in a lawyer’s office while the will is read aloud. That is a film convention, not Canadian practice, and it has never been a legal requirement here.
What actually happens: the executor locates the original will, notifies the beneficiaries, and sends the relevant portions to the people entitled to them. There is no ceremony and no fixed date.
How long after death are beneficiaries notified?
There is no statutory deadline, but there are clear expectations.
Notification should happen within a few weeks of death, and certainly before the probate application is filed. In Ontario, notice to beneficiaries is part of applying for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee – the court expects it.
At minimum a beneficiary should be told: that the person has died, that a will exists, that they are named in some capacity, and what happens next.
A few weeks of silence around a funeral is normal. Months of silence, vague answers, or refusal to confirm whether a will exists at all is not.
What beneficiaries are entitled to receive
Beyond the will itself, a residual beneficiary can expect:
- A list of estate assets and approximate values
- Details of debts, legal fees, and the estate administration tax
- Periodic updates on the progress of administration
- A formal accounting before the final distribution
An executor is not obliged to explain every decision in real time. They are obliged to account for the money.
Are wills public record in Canada?
Only after probate – and then, yes, completely.
Once the executor applies for probate, the will normally becomes part of the public court file. Anyone can attend the courthouse and ask to inspect it: an estranged sibling, a neighbour, a journalist. That is why probate changes the privacy calculation entirely, and why some families use multiple wills to keep certain assets out of the public application.
Before probate, a will is a private document. Nobody has a right to see it merely because they are related to the deceased.
Should an executor have a copy of the will before death?
That is the testator’s decision, and no province requires them to share it.
The case for sharing: an executor who is blindsided has to hunt for the original, work out which lawyer drafted it, and start administering an estate with no runway. Sharing early also lets them say no – because they are moving abroad, or because a clause conflicts with a shareholder agreement. Far better to learn that now than after the funeral.
The case against: wills change. Hand out copies, revise the document three times over a decade, and stale versions circulate through the family. A beneficiary who saw a number in 2016 will remember that number. There is also the quiet awkwardness of an executor who is also a beneficiary knowing the contents years in advance.
The middle path most estate lawyers recommend: tell your executor that they have been appointed and where the original is kept. Keep the contents private if you prefer.
Where the original will should be kept
Only the original, wet-ink document is accepted for probate. Copies are for reference.
Most people use a home safe, a safety deposit box, or their lawyer’s vault. Each has a failure mode: home safes get forgotten, safety deposit boxes are hard to access after death if nobody knows which bank, and lawyers retire. A law firm holding the original is usually cleanest, because firms index wills and have retention obligations.
Ontario has no central public wills registry. British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec run notice systems recording where a will is kept. Ontario does not, which is why telling someone the location matters more here than elsewhere.
If the original cannot be found, a copy can sometimes be admitted to probate by court order – an expensive, uncertain application that is entirely avoidable.
What to do when an executor won’t share the will
If a parent has died and the executor, often a sibling, is being evasive about whether you are named, that is not ordinary estate administration.
Document everything. Dates, exact wording, and in particular any admission that the will exists or was recently changed. An executor cannot claim last-minute changes were made and simultaneously refuse to explain who the beneficiaries are.
Ask precise questions. Not “can you tell me what’s happening” – instead: Has probate been applied for? Are you the estate trustee with a will, or administering informally? Which courthouse? Has the certificate been issued? Precise questions put someone on the record.
Inspect the court file. Once probate is filed the will is public. Attending the registrar’s office and requesting the estate file makes the stonewalling irrelevant. This single step resolves most of these disputes.
The “privacy” justification is rarely about privacy. Control over information is control over the timeline and the narrative. Probate ends that, which is why delay so often accompanies silence.
Removing an uncooperative executor
Beneficiaries can apply to remove an executor, but the threshold is high. Courts do not remove for slowness, personality conflict, or arguments about compensation. They do remove for fraud, serious neglect, conflict of interest, or outright refusal to perform basic duties.
The application requires evidence of misconduct and a request to appoint a replacement estate trustee. It is neither cheap nor quick – though the prospect of one frequently shakes loose information that was previously unavailable.
Frequently asked questions
Who is entitled to see a copy of a will in Canada? Before probate, only beneficiaries, and only to the extent of their interest. Residual beneficiaries can see the whole will; specific gift recipients are generally entitled only to the part concerning their gift. After probate, anyone can inspect the court file.
What documents are beneficiaries entitled to see? A residual beneficiary can expect the will, a list of estate assets and values, details of debts and fees, periodic updates, and a formal accounting before the final distribution.
When should beneficiaries be notified? Within a few weeks of the death, and certainly before the probate application is filed – notice to beneficiaries is part of applying for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee in Ontario.
Who keeps the original copy of a will in Canada? Whoever the testator chose: a home safe, a safety deposit box, or the drafting lawyer’s vault. Only the original is accepted for probate, which is why the location matters more than the copies.
Can you look up a will in Ontario? Only after probate, when it becomes part of the public court file at the courthouse. Ontario has no central wills registry, unlike British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec.
How do beneficiaries receive their money? Usually in two stages – an interim distribution once the debts are known, then a final distribution after the CRA clearance certificate arrives. Payment is by cheque or transfer from the estate account, with an accounting to support it.
What if the executor refuses to share the will? Document every exchange, ask precise questions about whether probate has been applied for and at which courthouse, and inspect the court file once the application is filed. That single step usually ends the dispute.
Can an executor be removed for withholding information? It is possible, but the threshold is high and the application is neither quick nor cheap. In practice, a lawyer’s letter setting out the trustee’s disclosure obligations resolves most of these situations long before a court is involved.
Talk to an estate lawyer in Toronto
LD Law LLP acts for estate trustees and for beneficiaries – preparing wills and powers of attorney, guiding executors through probate, and pressing for disclosure and accounting where an estate has stalled.
1551 Bloor Street West, Toronto · 416-747-9900
General information about Canadian and Ontario law as of August 2026. Not legal advice.