Steps

After partitioning the family or parental union patrimony and liquidating the matrimonial or civil union regime (as applicable), you, as liquidator, must settle the rest of the succession.

You must do this in accordance with: 

• the testator’s wishes, if there is a will;
• the rules of legal succession, if no will exists;
• the rules agreed upon by all the heirs, where the succession is clearly solvent.

To settle the succession, you will need to

• make an inventory of the deceased’s property,
• make the required publications, including in the RDPRM and the land register,
• pay the deceased’s debts,
• file the deceased’s income tax returns,
• pay any taxes owed by the deceased,
• obtain a certificate from Revenu Québec authorizing you to distribute the property of the succession, and
• partition and distribute the property.

For further information on how to file the income tax returns of a deceased person, see the websites of Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency.

In some cases you may settle a succession without following these steps. For example, you may do this if the heirs ask you not to make an inventory of the deceased’s property because they believe the succession is solvent.

You can only agree to this if all the heirs and successors are in agreement.

In such a case the succession is deemed accepted and the heirs are liable for all the succession’s debts, including those they did not know existed.

Please consult a legal advisor for further information on the consequences of not applying the rules set out in the Civil Code of Québec.