Nunavut Executor Duties: What You Actually Have to Do

Someone named you executor, and now there's a stack of paperwork, a frozen bank account, accounts to close in Iqaluit when you live in Igloolik, and a vague sense that if you get this wrong it's your name on the line. That instinct is correct. An executor in Nunavut is personally responsible for administering the estate properly, and the law doesn't grade on a curve for distance, weather, or the fact that this is the first estate you've ever handled.

The good news: the job is a sequence, not a mystery. Do the steps in order, keep records, and don't distribute money until the right document is in your hand. Here's what the role actually requires in Nunavut.

What executor authority gives you — and what it doesn't

Naming in the will makes you the executor, but it doesn't automatically give you the power to do everything. There's an important gap between being named and having proven authority.

Before probate, you can — and should — do the protective work: secure the home, take an inventory, notify institutions, arrange the funeral, and keep the estate's property safe. What you generally cannot do without a grant of probate is force a bank to release significant funds, transfer real property through Land Titles, or sell major assets. Banks in particular will hold the line: they freeze the deceased's accounts at death and won't hand over the balance to anyone — including the named executor — until they see either probate or, for small amounts, an indemnity arrangement.

So the first reality check is timing. For anything beyond a very small estate, you'll likely need to apply for probate at the Nunavut Court of Justice before you have full power to deal with assets. The court fee is scaled to estate value — $25 for estates under $10,000, rising to $400 for estates over $250,000 — and the Nunavut probate process is its own sequence worth understanding early.

One more thing that catches people: a power of attorney ceases at death. If you were managing the person's finances under a POA while they were alive, that authority ended the moment they died. You act now as executor, under the will — not under the old POA. Do not keep using the POA to move money. It's no longer valid, and using it is one of the executor mistakes that creates personal liability.

First steps and the notification checklist

Once you've secured the immediate situation and arranged the funeral, work through notifications. You'll need official death certificates from Vital Statistics in Rankin Inlet ($10 each) for most of these — the medical certificate from the health centre is not enough. Order several copies at once; see how to get a Nunavut death certificate for the application details.

Notify, at minimum:

• Service Canada — to stop Old Age Security/GIS, apply for the CPP Death Benefit ($2,500) and any survivor's pension
• Canada Revenue Agency — to update the deceased's status and set up estate reporting
• The deceased's bank(s) — CIBC or RBC, with branches only in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Cambridge Bay
• Qulliq Energy Corporation — for utility accounts in the deceased's name
• Nunavut Housing Corporation / Local Housing Organization — if the deceased held a public housing lease (this is urgent — see below)
• Insurance companies, pension plans, and creditors
• Canada Post — to redirect mail

If the deceased rented public housing, treat the NHC notification as time-sensitive. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a lease can be terminated on relatively short notice after the tenant's death, which can put surviving household members at risk of losing the home. Contact the Local Housing Organization immediately to ask about a lease transfer — details in Nunavut Housing Corporation after death.

Building the asset inventory

You can't administer an estate you haven't measured. Your inventory should capture everything the deceased owned and owed as of the date of death, because that's also what the court fee and tax return are based on.

Include the obvious: bank accounts, investments, the value of any owned home or land, life insurance, and vehicles. But in Nunavut, the inventory often includes assets a southern checklist would miss:

• Snowmobiles, ATVs, boats, and outboard motors — frequently among the most valuable physical assets in an estate, and easy targets if left unsecured
• Hunting and harvesting equipment
• Cultural items and country food stores
• NTI beneficiary status and any associated entitlements

Photograph and secure high-value movable property early. A snowmobile parked outside an empty house is a liability you're responsible for. Record estimated values; you'll need them for probate and for the tax return.

On the debt side, you must also deal with creditor notification. Before distributing the estate, give creditors a reasonable opportunity to come forward — this protects you, because if you distribute everything and a legitimate creditor surfaces later, you can be personally on the hook. In an estate that may be insolvent (more debts than assets), do not start paying unsecured creditors at your own discretion; there's an order of priority, and paying the wrong people first is your liability.

Taxes and the clearance certificate — the step you cannot skip

This is where executors get burned, so read it twice.

You must file the deceased's terminal tax return. The deadline is April 30 of the year following death, or six months after the date of death — whichever is later. If the person died in, say, March, you get the six-months-after option; if they died in November, the following April 30 governs. Depending on the estate, you may also need to file estate (T3) returns for income earned after death.

Once the returns are filed and assessed, request a clearance certificate from the CRA. This certificate confirms the deceased and the estate have paid all taxes owing. Do not distribute the estate to beneficiaries until you have it. If you pay out the money and the CRA later assesses additional tax, you — the executor — can be held personally liable for the shortfall, because you handed away the funds that should have covered it. The clearance certificate is the single most important piece of paper protecting you personally.

Only after creditors have been dealt with and the clearance certificate is in hand should you distribute to beneficiaries, get signed releases, and prepare a final accounting.

The realistic timeline

Settling an estate in Nunavut typically takes longer than in the south — mail-and-fax-only certificate ordering, banking concentrated in three communities, weather delays, and CRA processing all stack up. Many estates run a year or more start to finish; if the Public Trustee is involved, two to three years is common. Plan for it rather than promising beneficiaries fast money. For the full picture, see how long it takes to settle an estate in Nunavut.

If you'd rather not piece this together form by form, the complete Nunavut probate guide walks through every duty in order — with the exact offices, fees, and checklists an executor needs from day one to final distribution.

See more Nunavut guides →