The Difference Between an Executor vs an Estate Trustee

Whether correctly or incorrectly, the terms “executor” and “estate trustee” are used synonymously in modern estate practice, leading many to ask, “is an estate trustee the same as an executor?”. On a technical and arguably historical basis, while there is significant overlap between executors and estate trustees, the difference lies in the scope of their duties.

What is an Executor?

Executors are tasked with administering an estate upon the passing of a testator. Their duties include applying for probate, settling debts, and securing and distributing the assets of an estate. Once the administration of an estate was complete, the executor’s role generally ended.  Executors were not responsible for managing ongoing trusts, unless they were also named “estate trustees”. 

What is an Estate Trustee?

Estate trustees may have the same responsibilities as executors, but they also manage ongoing trusts created by a Will. These trusts would all have to be created by a Will.

Examples of these ongoing trusts include age of majority clauses that require an estate trustee to hold and invest funds in trust to pay a beneficiary upon them reaching a certain age, meaning that those funds cannot be immediately distributed. Estate trustees can also manage ongoing trusts for a testator’s surviving spouse or manage farmland until children reach a certain age and have an option to buy.  Therefore, estate trustees can be obligated to continue managing estate assets even after a typical administration period has ended.

Executor vs Estate Trustee Probate Certificate Process

In Ontario, “estate trustee” is the official legal term, while “executor” remains its informal and shorter alternative.  This is similar to the difference between the lengthy and formal term “Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee“, which is informally and historically referred to as “probate”.  When writing an email, it is far easier to write that “the executor applied for probate” than the wordier option of “the estate trustee submitted an Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee”. 

When probate is granted, the Court issues a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will or a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee without a Will, no matter how someone controlling an estate is referenced in a Will.  There is no Certificate of Appointment of Executor.  A Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee will grant an individual or multiple individuals the powers of both an executor and an estate trustee, subject to the terms of a Will.

References in Wills

It is typical for one person to be appointed both an executor and estate trustee by a Will.  Wills often name an individual as “my executor and estate trustee”, though either appointment would likely be sufficient to execute a Will and its trusts. 

A Historical Difference

It is for these reasons that the difference between the terms “estate trustee” vs “executor” is mostly historical, rather than functional, and why the terms are now used interchangeably.  It is important to remember that there are many forms of non-estate trusts, so while the term “estate trustee” may be synonymous with “executor” the term “trustee” is not.