DUTIES OF A LIQUIDATOR

Are you the liquidator of an estate?  To know where to start and what your specific duties are, here is a list of the many tasks that you will have to carry out as part of your mandate.*

In the first 30 days

• Search for the most recent will;
• Do a testamentary search at the Chambre des notaires du Québec;
• Do a testamentary search at the Barreau du Québec;
• Have the will probated (for holographic wills or if the will was drawn up in front of witnesses);
• Interpret the will;
• Inform the beneficiaries of their rights;
• Obtain a copy of the notarized will; birth, death and marriage certificates; judgements of separation or divorce, etc.;
• Check personal, property and car insurance;
• Make sure that valuable objects are in safekeeping;
• Analyze the deceased's financial situation;
• Meet the immediate financial needs of the family of the deceased;
• Have the mail forwarded;
• Cancel any rental leases, telephone, cable and public utility services; personal cards or credit cards; subscriptions to publications or social clubs, driver's licence, etc.;
• Notify financial institutions, life insurance companies, the employer, the Régie des rentes du Québec, Old Age Security, etc., of the death;
• Confirm the matrimonial regime and any waiver of family property with the Department of Justice;
• Temporarily invest the liquidities.

Within 60 days

• Collect interest, rents, accounts receivable, etc.;
• Pay the funeral expenses;
• Establish the legal impact related to the matrimonial regime, family property and the will;
• Recover assets from financial institutions;
• Close savings and investment accounts, safety deposit boxes, etc.

Within 180 days or more

• Complete the inventory and publish the notice of closure;
• Gather information to file tax returns and make recommendations;
• File the tax returns (T-1);
• Transfer retirement income plans and funds (RRSP, SSP, RPP, RRIF);
• Evaluate the assets;
• Analyze the financial consequences and make recommendations;
• Establish the liquidity needed to pay taxes, debts, specific bequests, family property and the benefits of the marriage contract;
• Register a declaration of transmission for real property;
• Receive notices of assessment;
• Pay the taxes, debts, specific bequests, liquidation fees, family property and the benefits of the marriage contract;
• Request certificates from the tax authorities to distribute the property;
• Proceed with the disbursement of a portion of the bequests;
• File the estate tax returns (T-3);
• Pay the balance of the bequests;
• Proceed with a rendering of accounts and partition;
• Publish the notice of closure of the liquidator account.

* This is not a complete list. The duties and responsibilities of the liquidator may vary depending on the size and complexity of the estate.