Audit of Liquidator work

Let’s say that you are a residuary beneficiary in an Estate. But you most probably are not aware of certain of the acts of the Liquidator could involved you in serious situation or problems.

Indeed, certain gestures of the Liquidator (or his agent) could engage in acceptation of the Estate. And if this Estate would be in deficit, you would have to prove that you never accepted said Estate. If not, you would have to pay part or whole of the debts of the Estate.


The Civil Code limits the role and responsibilities of the Liquidator to prepare an inventory of the assets, publish said inventory to RDPRM, pay the liabilities of the deceased and the Estate, prepare a rendering of account to be approved by the beneficiaries and, finally, make remittance of the assets to the beneficiaries.

The Liquidator should also prepare of have prepared the final Income Tax returns of the deceased and obtain the distribution certificate (Revenue Québec) and discharge certificate (CRA)

It is very common that the Liquidator will forget to give a copy of the inventory to the residuary beneficiaries. But it is very rare that the Liquidator will remit copy of the rendering of account to the beneficiaries. It is, nevertheless, his duty to do so as per Civil Code. Few people (including professionals) know that:

1- The Liquidator must obtain a distribution certificate from Revenue Québec before remitting any assets to the beneficiaries. He should also obtain the discharge certificate from CRA but the rules are quite different in this case.
2- The assets of the Estate belong to the beneficiaries from the time of death but the Liquidator must keep said assets until his work is completed. But, also, the Liquidator should not dispose of the assets without the authorization of the residuary beneficiaries unless funds are needed to pay urgent debts.
3- A real estate must be insured for fire and vandalism. Insurance companies will refuse, generally speaking, to insure the contents after the death of the owner and in most cases, will also refuse to insure the immovable
4- The Liquidator must remit to the residuary beneficiaries annual rendering of account of the settlement of the Estate. This document should contain a detailed report of the financial transactions since date of date.
5- The nomination of the Liquidator should be published to RDPRM
6- Notice of inventory and the rendering of account should also be published to RDPRM.
7- A notice of inventory should be published to a local newspaper.
8- Before paying debts and particular legacies, the Liquidator should wait 60 days after publishing the notice of inventory to RDPRM.
9- The inventory should contain all assets having a value of $100 and more.
10- The final income tax returns (T1 and TP1) should be filed within the delay given by CRA and Revenue Québec. These returns should include the accrued income, the value of RRSP, RRIF unless these are to be transferred to the widow(er) or, under certain conditions, to the children of the deceased.

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If you are not certain that the acts of the Liquidator or his agent respect the Civil Code, the Income Tax laws and your rights, we could help you.

We could, indeed, audit the Liquidator works, request the inventory and/or the rendering of account as well as all acts of the said Liquidator or in his name.

We will also inform you of the result of your work and inquiries and the next steps you could take. We could also take the steps on your behalf if you wish.