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The Liquidator of the Estate

If a member of your family were to die, he or she may have designated you as the estate liquidator in his or her will. He or she may also not have designated an estate liquidator, in which case the heirs must agree upon an individual to be designated to carry out that role.

Responsibilities

If you are an estate liquidator, you are in charge of ensuring the orderly settlement of the estate and you have various responsibilities. For example, you will be required to find the deceased's last will, collect official documents, notify financial institutions of the death, take inventory of the deceased's assets, pay the estate's debts, recover amounts owing, etc.

Retraite Québec pensions and death benefits

In the event of death, Retraite Québec can pay different pension and benefits if the deceased made sufficient contributions to the different plans. When you liquidate an estate, you must generally carry out one or more administrative procedures with Retraite Québec depending on the deceased's specific situation. Did the deceased work? Did he or she have a pension plan offered in the workplace? Did he or she receive pensions or benefits from Retraite Québec? The steps to be taken will vary according to your answers to those questions.

For more information on the steps to be taken and the eligibility requirements, consult our Pensions and death benefits section.

Income tax slips and the estate

Retraite Québec produces income tax slips, which must be taken into account when preparing the income tax return for the deceased and the estate. The additional information allows you to predict when the income tax slips are produced and at which address they will be mailed to.

Income tax slips for the pensions and benefits paid to the deceased

The deceased received a disability pension, a retirement pension or a surviving spouse's pension.

The tax slip

  • indicates the amount that was paid in the name of the deceased person

  • is mailed 6 weeks after Retraite Québec was informed of the death

  • is addressed to the heirs of  "name of the deceased"

  • is mailed to the address of the deceased or to the address of the person who applied for a death benefit if it was as an heir or liquidator.


The deceased received a disability pension, a retirement pension or a surviving spouse's pension.

The tax slip

  • indicates the amount that was paid in the name of the deceased person

  • is mailed 8 weeks after confirmation of the eligibility to the surviving spouse's pension after receiving the application. If no application is received, the tax slip will be sent in February of the next year following the death

  • is addressed to the deceased

  • is mailed to the address of the liquidator of the estate, or to the deceased's address if we do not know the liquidator's address.

Income tax slips for the survivors' benefits paid to the estate

A single amount of a maximum of $2500 intended to repay part of the funeral expenses.

The tax slip

  • indicates the amount of death benefit that was paid

  • is mailed the month following the one during which the death benefit was paid

  • is addressed to the heirs of "name of the deceased"

  • is mailed to the address of the deceased or to the address of the person who applied for a death benefit (heir or liquidator).


If the person worked in the Québec health and social services sector, the education sector or the public service sector, the estate could receive one or more benefits under Québec public-sector pension plans.

The tax slip

  • indicates the amount of survivors' benefits that was paid

  • is mailed 8 weeks after confirmation of the eligibility to the survivors' benefits if the deceased person received a pension under a public-sector pension plan. Otherwise, the tax slip will be mailed after the estate files an application

  • is addressed to the "Estate of 'name of the deceased person'"

  • is mailed to the address of the liquidator of the estate.


Other useful links

  • The Death This link will open in a new window. section on Québec.ca indicates the steps to take following a person's death.
  • Consult a notary This link will open in a new window. for assistance in settling an estate.
  • The Wills and Estates This link will open in a new window. section on the Éducaloi website provides a wealth of useful information on how to settle an estate.
  • Consult Revenu Québec This link will open in a new window.'s website for more information regarding your tax obligations as a liquidator.
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