Testamentary trust

A testamentary trust is a trust or an estate that arises on the death of an individual and as a consequence thereof. The terms of such a trust are created

• by will,
• by law in the absence of a will, or
• by court order (for example, pursuant to the application of legislation providing for an obligation of support on behalf of dependants).

Important

A trust created by a person other than the deceased is not a testamentary trust. 

If the property or income is not distributed in accordance with the terms of the will, the trust may lose its status as a testamentary trust. In this case, the trust's taxation year must be modified, if applicable, to make it correspond to the calendar year. A note explaining the situation must be attached to the first return filed by the trust for a fiscal period ending on December 31.

For further information, consult the page Taxation year.

Note

It is not necessary to file a trust return for an estate if the deceased person's property is distributed immediately after the death or if the estate did not earn any income before the distribution of the property. However, each beneficiary must receive a statement indicating that beneficiary's share of the property of the estate.

For further information, refer to the Guide to Filing the Trust Income Tax Return (TP-646.G-V).