Seniors: caregiving
Get support if you take care of a loved one or if you are responsible for end-of-life decisions.
Support for caregivers
Ontario Caregiver Helpline
Browse this one-stop resource for information and support, including a 24/7 helpline. Call
Home and community care
Learn how to get help for your family members or patients who need support living at home.
Respite care
Get help to take a break from caregiving. In your absence, a personal care worker or health care professional can provide services through OHIP.
Tax credits
Disability Tax Credit
Get a tax credit if you are supporting family members with severe or prolonged impairments.
Medical Expense Tax Credit
Get a tax credit if you are supporting family members and paid for medical supplies, dental care, or travel expenses.
Canada Caregiver Credit
Get a non-refundable tax credit if you support a spouse or common-law partner, or a dependent with a physical or mental impairment.
Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit
Get a tax credit if you help low-to moderate-income seniors with eligible medical expenses, such as hearing aids, hospital beds and attendant care.
Employment benefits
Caregiving benefits
If you must be away from your job to provide care or support to a seriously ill or injured family member with a significant risk of death, you might be entitled to this benefit.
Family leaves
Get unpaid, job-protected leave so you can provide care or support to eligible family members or others.
Other taxes and benefits
Find tax credits, incentives and benefits that will help you with caring for others:
End of life decisions
What to do when someone dies
Find answers to common questions about what to do, and what support is available, when a loved one dies in Ontario.
Funerals and arrangements
Learn about planning a funeral, burial, cremation or scattering., and what to do if you discover a burial site.
Last Post Fund
Find out how eligible veterans can get funding for a dignified funeral and burial, and a military gravestone.
Bereavement Authority of Ontario
Know your options, rights and learn about funerals, burials, cremations and hydrolysis.
Bereaved Families of Ontario
Find free individual and group grieving support programs, in both an open and closed setting if someone has died.
Death outside Canada
Find out what to do if a person dies in another country.
Wills and estates
Oversee the deceased’s finances
If you are the executor of a deceased person’s estate, you must do the following on their behalf:
- notify the CRA of the date of death
- file an income tax form on their behalf
- contact their pensions and benefits
- inform the banks and financial institutions of the death
- cancel their government ID and permits
- notify their clubs, organizations, services and professional associations
Administering estates
Learn how someone’s assets and liabilities are handled after they die, including what happens if a person dies with or without a will.
Ontario death certificate
When someone dies in Ontario, order and use this certificate to settle an estate, access benefits or cancel certain government services.
Government cards and registries
If you are the executor of a deceased person’s estate, contact the government agencies that apply to the deceased person: