Service
Short answer
An estate and heir search identifies and locates beneficiaries, maps family relationships, and finds assets and creditors of a Canadian estate. It draws on obituaries, vital records where accessible, land titles, corporate registries, and directories — and is one of the few contexts where genealogical sources carry real evidentiary weight.
Draws on 8 record sources, each named below with the statutory basis we rely on. See the list.
An obituary typically names the deceased's spouse, children, siblings, grandchildren, and predeceased relatives, frequently with cities of residence and maiden names. For an executor reconstructing a family tree, one obituary can do more work than a dozen registry searches, and it is free. Cross-referencing obituaries across a family produces a defensible relationship map surprisingly quickly.
Executors are personally exposed if they distribute before satisfying creditors. So the search runs both ways: locate the beneficiaries, and also identify registered liens, judgments, PPSA registrations, and property charges that constitute claims against the estate. Finding a lien after distribution is a materially worse outcome than finding a beneficiary late.
What you receive
Honest limits
Every item here is a structural limit of the Canadian record, not a paywall. Anyone promising you these is either misrepresenting what they have or describing something unlawful.
8 connectors
Each source carries the paragraph of the Regulations Specifying Publicly Available Information that permits collecting from it without the subject's consent.
Multiple publishers
Lawful basisPublished by the individualSOR/2001-7(e)
API · No search fee
Yellow Pages Canada
Lawful basisPublic telephone directorySOR/2001-7(a)
Public web form · No search fee
Government of Canada
Lawful basisStatutory public registrySOR/2001-7(c)
Public web form · No search fee
LTSA
Lawful basisStatutory public registrySOR/2001-7(c)
Paid account · 15.00 CAD per search
Service Alberta
Lawful basisStatutory public registrySOR/2001-7(c)
Paid account · 10.00 CAD per search
Gouvernement du Québec
Lawful basisStatutory public registrySOR/2001-7(c)
Paid account · 1.00 CAD per search
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Lawful basisStatutory public registrySOR/2001-7(c)
Public web form · No search fee
ServiceOntario / Ministry of the Attorney General
Lawful basisStatutory public registrySOR/2001-7(c)
Paid account · 11.00 CAD per search
Figures
| Measure | Value | Source | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian jurisdictions where adoption records are sealed | All | Provincial adoption legislation | 2026 |
Questions
Obituaries and death notices are the usual starting point, since they name surviving relatives. From there you work forward through telephone directories, corporate registries, professional registers, and property records to locate each named person. A documented record of the search matters as much as the result — it evidences the executor's diligence if a beneficiary surfaces later.
Vital statistics death registrations are restricted to the immediate family and estate representatives, and access runs through the provincial vital statistics office. What is openly available is obituaries, cemetery and funeral home records, and Canada Gazette notices — which in practice answer most estate questions.
Because an executor who distributes before satisfying creditors can be personally liable. An asset and encumbrance search identifies registered claims against the estate — liens, judgments, security interests, and charges on property — before distribution, and also surfaces assets the deceased did not mention in any list the family has.
Next step
Markdown /services/estate-and-heir-search.md — the same content with no navigation chrome, for machine readers.