Granovsky Estate v. Ontario Explained — Multiple Wills and Probate Fees

Last updated May 17, 2026 · 3 min read
Quick answer
Granovsky Estate v. Ontario, 1998 CanLII 14913 (ON SC), is the Ontario decision that endorsed the use of multiple wills to reduce probate fees. Justice Greer held that a testator may use a primary will for assets that require probate and a secondary will for assets that do not — such as private-company shares — and that the secondary will need not be submitted to probate, so no Estate Administration Tax is payable on its assets. The estate saved roughly $375,000.

A business owner dies with private-company shares worth two million dollars — shares that, it turns out, can be transferred to the heirs without any court involvement at all. Should the estate still pay Ontario's Estate Administration Tax on their full value, simply because they were mentioned in the will? In 1998, an Ontario court said no, and in doing so blessed a planning technique that has saved Ontario business families a great deal of money ever since. The case is Granovsky Estate v. Ontario.

This explainer covers the facts, the question, the court's reasoning, and what it means for anyone with assets that do not require probate. It is general information, not legal advice; multiple-will planning is precise work for a lawyer.

The facts

The Granovsky estate had been planned using two wills. A primary will governed assets that would require probate — bank accounts, publicly held investments, real estate. A secondary will governed assets that generally do not require a grant of probate to transfer, principally shares in private companies and related interests. Only the primary will was submitted for probate. Ontario's Ministry of Finance challenged the arrangement, taking the position that both wills had to be probated, which would have brought the private-company shares into the tax base.[1]

The central question

Must every will a person leaves be submitted to probate — with Estate Administration Tax payable on the whole estate — or can a secondary will validly govern assets that do not need a grant, keeping their value outside the tax?

What the court decided

Justice Greer upheld the multiple-will arrangement. The court held there was no requirement to submit the secondary will to probate, and therefore no Estate Administration Tax was payable on the assets it governed.[1] A testator, the court reasoned, may organize their affairs to pay as little as the law requires in estate fees and taxes; the relevant legislation was administrative, concerned with proving authority over assets that need a grant, not a taxing statute reaching every asset a person owned. By keeping the private-company shares — which could be transferred without probate — in a non-probated secondary will, the estate reportedly saved in the order of $375,000.

The practical principle

Granovsky established multiple wills as a legitimate, court-endorsed probate-planning tool in Ontario. The logic is clean: Estate Administration Tax is charged on the value of the estate that passes through probate, so assets that do not need probate to transfer need not be in the probated will.[3] A secondary will commonly captures private-company shares, shareholder loans, and sometimes personal effects — assets transferable without a grant.

The limits — and why this is lawyer work

Granovsky opened the door, but later litigation has narrowed how it must be done. Courts have scrutinized multiple wills whose drafting gave the executor broad discretion to allocate assets between the two wills, and poorly drafted "basket" arrangements have been challenged. The wills must also be coordinated so a later will does not accidentally revoke an earlier one. The upshot is that multiple wills work, but only with careful, professional drafting — this is not a DIY technique. See multiple wills in Ontario for how the strategy is structured.

What it means for your estate plan

If you own a private corporation or other assets that can transfer without probate, multiple wills may save your estate significant Estate Administration Tax — most meaningfully in percentage-fee provinces like Ontario and British Columbia, and far less in Alberta, where probate fees are capped at $525. It is worth raising with an estates lawyer as part of a broader plan; our probate avoidance checklist puts it alongside the simpler, lower-risk options most people should consider first.

What we focus on at It's Simple Will

The Will Creator serves the straightforward majority of estates well; multiple-will planning for business owners is a specialized, lawyer-drafted strategy, and our guides aim to help you recognize when your situation has crossed into that territory. For the fee context, see probate fees in Ontario.

Citations & sources

  1. [1]Granovsky Estate v. Ontario, 1998 CanLII 14913 (ON SC), 156 DLR (4th) 557 — Ontario Court (General Division) / CanLII
  2. [2]Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, SO 1998, c 34, Sch — CanLII
  3. [3]Estate Administration Tax (Ontario) — Government of Ontario

Frequently asked questions

What did Granovsky Estate v. Ontario decide?

That a testator can validly use two wills — a primary will for assets needing probate and a secondary will for assets that do not — and that the secondary will need not be probated. As a result, no Estate Administration Tax was payable on the assets governed by the secondary will, which mainly held private-company shares.

Why does this save money?

Ontario's Estate Administration Tax is charged on the value of assets passing through the probated estate. Assets that can be transferred without a grant of probate — notably shares in a private company — do not need to be in the probated will. Keeping them in a non-probated secondary will removes their value from the tax base.

Who benefits most from multiple wills?

Owners of private corporations and people holding assets that can transfer without probate. For a business owner whose company shares are worth a great deal, excluding those shares from the probated estate can save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in Estate Administration Tax.

Are multiple wills still valid today?

Yes, multiple wills remain a recognized Ontario planning tool, but later litigation has clarified that they must be drafted carefully. Overly broad or discretionary clauses allocating assets between the wills have been challenged, so precise drafting by an estates lawyer is essential to ensure the strategy holds.

Does this work the same in every province?

No. The benefit depends on how a province charges probate fees. It is most valuable in percentage-fee provinces like Ontario and British Columbia. In Alberta, where probate fees are capped at $525 regardless of estate size, multiple wills offer little fee saving.

Do I need a lawyer for multiple wills?

Effectively yes. Multiple wills must be coordinated so they do not accidentally revoke each other and so each clearly governs its own pool of assets. This is precise drafting with real money at stake, and it is firmly in lawyer territory rather than a DIY exercise.

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