Onyx Law Group
By Candace Cho
December 22nd, 2025
The penalty for stealing from an estate in Canada can include criminal charges for theft, fraud, or breach of trust, with consequences such as fines, restitution, and imprisonment under the Criminal Code.
The severity of the penalty depends on factors like the value of the stolen assets, the offender’s intent, and whether the person was an executor or in a position of trust. In serious cases, courts may impose jail sentences, remove the offender from their role in the estate, and order repayment to the beneficiaries.
Stealing from an estate refers to unlawfully taking, withholding, or misusing estate funds or other estate property that belongs to a deceased person, often through fraudulent means or false pretenses. Theft may arise through executor misconduct, such as when an executor steals or misuses estate assets. It may also occur when a beneficiary, personal representative, or third party takes estate property for personal use, alters records, conceals assets, or diverts funds intended for rightful beneficiaries, thereby breaching their fiduciary duty to act in a trustworthy manner as an executor.
Under Canadian law, stealing from an estate is governed primarily by the Criminal Code of Canada and may be prosecuted as an indictable offence, particularly where the offence exceeds minor thresholds in value or involves a position of trust. The charges could be theft, fraud, or breach of trust.
