How to Apply for Probate in Alberta

The short answer

In Alberta, probate means applying to the Court of King's Bench for a grant of probate, which confirms that the person named in the will has the authority to administer the estate. The application is made online through the Surrogate Digital Service, or on paper with the GA (Grant Application) forms starting with GA1. A grant is not always needed: property that passes outside the estate — a beneficiary designation on an investment, or property owned jointly that passes to the surviving owner — transfers without estate administration.

This guide is process only. It states the steps the Alberta government pages and the Surrogate Rules set out. It gives no legal advice, and it does not advise you on whether a grant is required, who should apply, or how an estate should be divided. The Public Trustee cannot help with applications for a grant. If the estate is contentious or complicated, speak to a lawyer.

Before you apply

There is no will registry in Alberta, so start by finding the will. People commonly keep a will in a locked cabinet, a safe, a safety deposit box at their bank, or with a trusted third party such as a lawyer. The Public Trustee may store a will for safekeeping only if it belongs to a Public Trustee client or names the Public Trustee as personal representative. An international will may be registered with the Office of the Public Trustee, which holds information about who to contact to locate it.

The main tasks of a personal representative are to identify the estate assets and liabilities, administer and manage the estate, satisfy the debts and obligations of the estate, and distribute and account for the administration of the estate.

How to apply

There are two methods to apply for a grant to administer an estate, under the Surrogate Rules in the Court of King's Bench:

1. Online through the Surrogate Digital Service (SDS). This is the preferred method. You must be an Alberta resident and one of the applicants to use the online service. Members of the Law Society of Alberta must use the Surrogate Digital Service for all applications the service can process. A legal professional who submits a paper application must include a GA1 Submission Eligibility Form stating why the application is not eligible for online processing through SDS.
2. Paper application using the GA forms. Paper applications start with the GA1: Grant Application. The Surrogate Rules and Forms Package — a user's guide for grant applications — is aimed at people filing straightforward, non-contentious applications themselves.

The application is filed at the judicial centre closest by road to where the deceased resided on the date of death, unless the court permits otherwise, under rule 6 of the Surrogate Rules, Alberta Regulation 130/1995.

The forms

The GA forms are the forms for applications filed on or after June 15, 2022. The forms that matter for a typical grant of probate are:

• GA1: Grant Application. The core application, required in every case. It sets out the deceased's details, the estate's net value, your right to apply, the beneficiaries, and the interested parties.
• GA2: Inventory. The inventory of the estate's assets and debts. The original will and any original codicils must be attached to the application, along with proof of death.
• GA3: Notice to Beneficiaries and Other Interested Parties. Served on each person listed in the GA1, other than the Public Trustee, who requires notification. The notice must be accompanied by the GA1 application as filed and the GA2 inventory, when served on a residuary beneficiary, a beneficiary on intestacy, or a person required to be served under section 11 of the Estate Administration Act.
• GA4: Notice to Public Trustee. Served on the Public Trustee if the circumstances require it. The Public Trustee must review all grant applications in Alberta where a minor is a beneficiary of an estate, and the personal representative must give the Public Trustee office a copy of the grant application and a GA4 form. Where a represented adult is a beneficiary, you must serve the trustee, not the represented adult.
• GA5: Affidavit of Service. Filed within 30 days after the date on which service is effected. If the applicant does not file proof of service as required, the court may issue a grant only if it is satisfied with the reason given.
• GA7: Notice of Grant Issuing. Served within 30 days after the grant is issued, on each person listed in the GA1 who requires notification. No affidavit of service is required for a notice of grant issuing.
• GA11: Renunciation. Used where a personal representative named in the will does not wish to, or cannot, apply for a grant. Before a grant of administration may issue, all those who rank higher or equal to the applicant must renounce in Form GA11.
• GA12: Reservation for double probate. Used where not all personal representatives named in a will apply at the same time: those who do not apply must reserve their right to apply later by filing Form GA12.
• GA15 and GA16: Notice to claimants. If a personal representative publishes a notice to claimants, it must be published in a newspaper published or circulated in the area where the deceased usually lived, or, if the deceased did not usually live in Alberta, where a significant amount of the deceased's property is situated. For an estate with a gross value of $100,000 or less, the notice must be published at least once; for more than $100,000, at least twice with 5 days or more between the publications. A claimant must notify the personal representative not more than one month after the date on which the last notice is published.

Service under rule 26 can be made by leaving the document with the person, by sending it by recorded mail, by giving it to a lawyer authorized to accept service, or by the person's written acknowledgement of receipt.

The grant fee

The fee for issuing a grant of probate or administration, or resealing grants, excluding trusteeship, depends on the net value of property in Alberta, as the Alberta court fees page sets out:

• $10,000 or less: $35
• Over $10,000 but not more than $25,000: $135
• Over $25,000 but not more than $125,000: $275
• Over $125,000 but not more than $250,000: $400
• Over $250,000: $525

Documents that require the opening of a court file respecting an estate cost $300. An application for trusteeship costs $300. Issuing a grant of double probate, a supplemental grant, or a grant of administration of unadministered property costs $300. A caveat costs $300.

Bonds

A personal representative who is not a resident of Alberta must provide a bond or other security approved by the court, unless the personal representative is resident in Alberta, or there are two or more personal representatives and one of them is resident in Alberta. A bond must be for an amount equal to the gross value of the deceased's property in Alberta, less any amount distributable to the personal representative as a beneficiary if the court so orders. A personal representative who lives outside Alberta may apply in the GA1 to dispense with the bond, for approval of other security, or to reduce the bond amount.

After the grant issues

Once the court issues the grant, serve the notice of grant issuing in Form GA7 within 30 days after the grant is issued, on each person listed in the GA1 who requires notification. You can contact the Court of King's Bench closest to where the deceased lived before they died to ask if any grants have been issued for the deceased person's estate, if the person claiming to administer it will not share the document; you may be required to pay a fee for that service. If a beneficiary cannot be found and the Public Trustee is administering the estate, funds eventually go to Alberta's provincial treasurer, and beneficiaries found later can still get their money.

What the opened pages do not state

No processing time for a grant is stated in this guide, because none could be verified on an opened official page. No lawyer cost is stated. No rule about how long a grant stays valid once issued is stated, because none could be verified on an opened page. The Surrogate Digital Service page states that the service can process most probate and administration applications, but this guide does not list which applications it cannot process, because that list could not be verified on an opened page. Confirm any fee or timeline with the Court of King's Bench before you rely on a figure from another source.

Related guides:

• How to Apply for Probate in British Columbia — British Columbia's grant process, for comparison with Alberta's.
• How to Apply for Probate in Ontario — Ontario's certificate process, which works differently from Alberta's grant process.
• How to Apply for Probate in Quebec — Quebec's verification process, which works differently from Alberta's.
• How to Make a Will in Canada — the national wills guide.
• How to Order a Death Certificate in Canada — the death certificate the personal representative needs as proof of death.
• How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in Canada — the power-of-attorney guide, for planning while the will-maker is still alive.

Sources

• Government of Alberta, Surrogate applications — Non-contentious matters — the two methods to apply, the Surrogate Digital Service as the preferred method, the Alberta-resident rule for online filing, the Law Society of Alberta rule, the GA1 as the starting form, and the Surrogate Rules and Forms Package.
• Government of Alberta, Court fees — the grant fee table by net value of property in Alberta, the $300 file-opening fee, the trusteeship, double probate, and caveat fees.
• Government of Alberta, Deceased persons' estates — no will registry in Alberta, when a grant of probate or administration is used, property inside and outside the estate, the Public Trustee's review of all grant applications where a minor is a beneficiary, and the GA4 notice.
• Alberta King's Printer, Surrogate Rules, Alberta Regulation 130/1995 — venue at the closest judicial centre (rule 6), the GA3 and GA4 notice and GA5 affidavit of service within 30 days (rule 26), the GA7 notice of grant within 30 days (rule 26.1), bonds for personal representatives who live outside Alberta (rule 28), renunciation on GA11 (rule 32), double probate on GA12 (rule 34), and the notice to claimants (rule 38).