Apply for probate in Saskatchewan: Form 16-11A, the Statement of Property, the $200 fee plus $7 per $1,000 of estate value, and filing at the Court of King's Bench.
Applies in: Saskatchewan
File Forms 16-11A, 16-13A, 16-14, and 16-19A with the original will at the Court of King's Bench, and pay $200 plus $7 for each $1,000 of Total Part 1 Assets. Probate in Saskatchewan is the court process that confirms a will is valid and that the executor named in it has the right to carry it out. The executor applies to the Court of King's Bench, and if the court is satisfied it issues Letters Probate. This guide covers process only. It is not legal advice, and it gives no advice about whether a particular estate needs a grant.
The procedure is governed by The Administration of Estates Act and by Part 16 of the King's Bench Rules. Wills themselves are governed by The Wills Act, 1996. Use the latest version of each form.
Not every estate needs probate. Letters Probate or Letters of Administration with Will Annexed may not be required to deal with assets that are not part of the estate (Part II Assets), such as property jointly owned with the deceased at the date of death, assets with a named beneficiary, or assets outside Saskatchewan.
Letters Probate or Letters of Administration with Will Annexed may not be required if the value of the estate is $25,000 or less, and does not include real property. Letters Probate or Letters of Administration with Will Annexed will be required if the estate assets include real estate, in order to conduct any land transactions with Information Services Corporation.
If the estate is $25,000 or less and the deceased did not own real property in Saskatchewan that will pass through the estate, you can apply to the Court of King's Bench for an order that the personal property be paid or delivered to you as the appointed representative, without obtaining letters probate or letters of administration. That application uses Form 16-36, Application in Small Estates — Memorandum to the Judge, and the Local Registrar fee is $100. The person named in the order must pay the reasonable funeral expenses and the debts of the deceased from the personal property, and pay any balance to the beneficiaries or next of kin.
The court's self-help package may assist an executor applying on their own for Letters Probate if all of the following circumstances apply: there is a will; there is an executor named in the will and that person is applying; and there are two witnesses to the will. If any of these circumstances do not apply, you may need to apply for Letters of Administration.
If there is a will but it does not name an executor, or the executor cannot or will not act, the priority of the persons entitled to apply for Letters of Administration with Will Annexed is set out in section 10 of The Administration of Estates Act, in this order: executors; residuary beneficiaries in trust; residuary beneficiaries for life; ultimate residuary beneficiaries or, where the residue is not wholly disposed of, persons entitled on an intestacy; personal representatives of those persons; beneficiaries and creditors; contingent residuary beneficiaries, contingent beneficiaries and persons having no interest in the estate who would have been entitled to a grant if the deceased had died wholly intestate; and the official administrator.
To obtain Letters Probate, the executor completes these forms:
You also need the original will and a Certificate of Death issued by a funeral director, coroner, or the Registrar of Vital Statistics.
If there are entitled beneficiaries under the age of 18 or a dependent adult, meaning a person who is not capable of managing their own affairs, the executor or administrator must also include two copies of Form 16-12, Notice to Public Guardian and Trustee.
If the will names an executor who will not act, that executor renounces the right to probate by completing Form 16-16, Renunciation of Probate. A Renunciation of Administration, Form 16-26, would typically be required from all persons with a prior or equal right to apply. An Administration Bond, Form 16-31, may be required to assure that duties are conducted according to the provisions of the will.
A beneficiary who wants a copy of the will should ask the executor or administrator for one, in writing, and keep a copy of the request. If the executor or administrator does not respond, a beneficiary may contact Wills and Estates at the Court of King's Bench in Regina at 306-787-5223 and request a copy of the original will, a list of the beneficiaries or other persons who may have an interest in the estate, and a list of the assets of the deceased, and should inquire about any associated fees.
File the completed forms with the Court of King's Bench, together with a Local Registrar fee of $200, as set out in Table 1 of The Administration of Estates Regulations, 2020, plus a levy of $7 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, of the Total Part 1 Assets listed in the Statement of Property, under section 51 of The Administration of Estates Act.
Worked example, from the government's own figures: an estate with Total Part 1 Assets of $500,000 produces a levy of $3,500, plus the $200 fee, for a total of $3,700.
If the estate contains real property and no named beneficiary is under the age of 18 or a dependent adult, a Local Registrar's Certificate of No Infants Interested should be requested from the Court of King's Bench for a fee of $25. This must be requested at the time of filing the application for the grant of Letters Probate. If it is not requested then, you can request a Certificate of No Infants from the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, providing a notarized copy of Letters Probate and an affidavit from the executor or administrator establishing that there are no minors or dependent adults interested in the estate.
If the court is satisfied with the application, it issues Letters Probate. The grant is the court order that confirms the executor's authority to deal with the estate: to collect assets, pay debts, and distribute what is left under the will.
Order court-certified copies of the grant when it issues. Banks and land registries commonly ask for a certified copy rather than a plain copy.
If the estate is worth $15,000 or less and you are administering it yourself, you do not have to prepare the application papers alone. The staff at the Court of King's Bench will assist you in preparing the necessary application for a grant of probate or a grant of administration. Section 7 of The Administration of Estates Act requires the local registrar to prepare the papers and administer the oaths where the estate does not exceed the amount prescribed in the regulations, and section 6 of The Administration of Estates Regulations, 2020 prescribes that amount as $15,000.
The fee for an application under section 7 is a $300 Local Registrar fee, plus the same levy of $7 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, of Total Part 1 Assets. You must provide the material the local registrar requires and pay the fee.
If there is no will, the process is called administration. The administrator applies for Letters of Administration using Form 16-11C, Application for Grant of Administration, with Form 16-13B, Affidavit of Applicant for Administration, and Form 16-14, Statement of Property.
Section 11 of The Administration of Estates Act lists the persons entitled to apply for Letters of Administration, in order: spouse; children; grandchildren and other issue of the deceased taking per stirpes; parents; siblings; nephews and nieces; next of kin of equal degree of consanguinity; creditors; and the official administrator.
A renunciation of administration would typically be required from all persons with a prior or equal right to apply. If there are entitled beneficiaries under the age of 18 or a dependent adult, the administrator must also include two copies of Form 16-12, Notice to Public Guardian and Trustee. An Administration Bond, Form 16-31, may be required. Where there is no will, the estate is distributed under Saskatchewan's intestate succession law.
There are also grants for situations where a will exists but no executor can finish the work: if one executor obtains Letters Probate and dies before completing the administration, the Court of King's Bench will consider appointing an administrator to complete it, who must obtain Letters of Administration De Bonis Non, using Form 16-29A and Form 16-29B with Form 16-14. The court may require the applicant to post an Administration Bond before granting those letters.
No processing time from filing to grant is stated, because none was verified on an opened official page. No separate notice-to-beneficiaries form or beneficiary-notice deadline is stated, because none was verified on an opened official page; the verified beneficiary step is the written request for a copy of the will described above. No filing address for a particular judicial centre is stated, because no specific courthouse address was verified on an opened official page. Confirm which Court of King's Bench location to file at, current timelines, and any copy fees with the court before you plan around them.
Probate is the Court of King's Bench process that confirms a will is valid and that the executor named in it has the right to carry it out. If the court is satisfied, it issues Letters Probate, and that court order gives the executor legal authority to deal with the estate. The rules sit in Saskatchewan's estates administration statute and in Part 16 of the King's Bench Rules, while wills themselves fall under The Wills Act, 1996.
No. Letters Probate may not be needed for assets that sit outside the estate, known as Part II Assets: property jointly owned with the deceased at the date of death, assets with a named beneficiary, and assets outside Saskatchewan. A grant may also be unnecessary where the estate is worth $25,000 or less and holds no real property. Real estate is the clear exception. Where the estate includes real estate, letters are needed to conduct land transactions with Information Services Corporation. When the answer is unclear for a particular estate, legal advice is worth getting before deciding.
Four forms carry a standard application. Form 16-11A is the Application for Grant of Probate. Form 16-13A is the Affidavit of Applicant for Probate. Form 16-14 lists the estate's property and values. Form 16-19A is the Affidavit of Execution of Will, or Form 16-19B for a handwritten will. The court's self-help package only fits a narrow case: a will exists, the named executor is the one applying, and two witnesses signed the will. Outside that case, Letters of Administration may be the right route instead.
Two charges apply at filing. The Local Registrar fee is $200, and on top of that comes a levy of $7 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, of the Total Part 1 Assets shown on Form 16-14. Take a $500,000 estate: the levy is $3,500, so the total at filing is $3,700. One more fee can arise. Where the estate holds real property and no beneficiary is under 18 or a dependent adult, a Local Registrar's Certificate of No Infants Interested should be requested when filing, for $25.
Then the executor or administrator must also file two copies of Form 16-12, Notice to Public Guardian and Trustee. A dependent adult here means a person who is not capable of managing their own affairs.
Then the process is called administration, not probate. The person applying uses Form 16-11C, Application for Grant of Administration, together with Form 16-13B, Affidavit of Applicant for Administration, and Form 16-14. Section 11 of the estates administration statute sets the order of who may apply. It runs: spouse first, then children, then grandchildren and other issue taking per stirpes, then parents, then siblings, then nephews and nieces, then next of kin of equal degree of consanguinity, then creditors, and finally the official administrator. Renunciation of administration, Form 16-26, would typically be required from everyone with a prior or equal right to apply. An Administration Bond, Form 16-31, may also be required. Distribution then follows Saskatchewan's intestate succession law.