This article appears in the June 2021 issue of Advisor’s Edge The Ontario government’s simplified probate process for estates valued at $150,000 or less will make administering small estates less costly and easier for estate trustees (as executors are known in Ontario), estate practitioners say. Probate, known as estate administration tax in Ontario, is the process whereby a court validates a will and confirms the executor’s authority to administer the estate. While not all wills need to be probated, banks and other financial institutions generally don’t release money held in the deceased’s accounts until the executor obtains probate.