Will probate

[ak77]

Anyone probated the will themselves? How hard is it? Any kits/guides? Know about 2018 book, seems like it's quite outdated.

[huntinstuff]

I just had a lawyer do it for me.

Took 45 days, some signing of papers digitally, and $2800 and 1% of the estate.

If you are close to the courthouse to file etc it will save you money. Its mostly all done online as is your grant of probate. All online

[pikergolf]

I did my Dads when he passed. There is a package available at the court house which has instructions. Dads was really straight forward, savings and a few possessions. The girls at the court house were most helpful but I gather from others in different cities that that is not common.
Was well worth it for the savings and while it seems daunting when they hand you the giant guide and hand book, most of it was not applicable for our situation. Did it in early 2020.

[esher]

Do it yourself in the courthouse, what the lawyers charge is criminal, probably first time you make yourself $1000 a hour, I did.

[esher]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

I just had a lawyer do it for me.

Took 45 days, some signing of papers digitally, and $2800 and 1% of the estate.

If you are close to the courthouse to file etc it will save you money. Its mostly all done online as is your grant of probate. All online

Thats one crappy deal, why a percentage after paying already?

[artie]

For me it was the banks that caused the most grief when dealing with an estate
I found that some banks were better than others.
one bank said the funds are frozen and you cannot have any money to pay the funeral expenses
Another bank said no problem I will get you a bank draft from the estate account
I just tossed my hands up in the air and let a lawyer figure out the probate.

[esher]

Originally Posted by artie

For me it was the banks that caused the most grief when dealing with an estate
I found that some banks were better than others.
one bank said the funds are frozen and you cannot have any money to pay the funeral expenses
Another bank said no problem I will get you a bank draft from the estate account
I just tossed my hands up in the air and let a lawyer figure out the probate.

Should have used the lawyer money sueing the bank. Someone smarter than me please explain probate having anything to do with funeral expenses with the bank.

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by esher

Thats one crappy deal, why a percentage after paying already?

Highest Alta. Probate fee is 525.

Grizz

[robfraser]

You don’t have to probate a will.

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

Highest Alta. Probate fee is 525.

Grizz

1.5% of the estate value in BC, no cap!

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by esher

Should have used the lawyer money sueing the bank. Someone smarter than me please explain probate having anything to do with funeral expenses with the bank.

It doesn’t.

[Pathfinder76]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

Highest Alta. Probate fee is 525.

Grizz

Alberta is not the highest.

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by artie

For me it was the banks that caused the most grief when dealing with an estate
I found that some banks were better than others.
one bank said the funds are frozen and you cannot have any money to pay the funeral expenses
Another bank said no problem I will get you a bank draft from the estate account
I just tossed my hands up in the air and let a lawyer figure out the probate.

Same here, seems like every time we turn around they want another document signed, and then you have to wait for their Estate dept to approve it. Apparently, a checking account is a different dept than a GIC than a stock account than a RRIF, than a TFSA and they want to have you sign papers for each to move the funds into the estate account.

WE are still dealing with it after four months, at least the letter of probate came in fast.

[Pathfinder76]

The volume of estates that are being dealt with in this country over the last three years is astronomical. I’m not exaggerating about that. It is unprecedented and will continue.

[huntinstuff]

Originally Posted by esher

Thats one crappy deal, why a percentage after paying already?

$2800 flat fee to do the application, prepare a financial statement, register the application at the courthouse.

1% because lawyers dont do anything for free

If there is over $40,000 cash in the estate bank account, banks demand the will be probated. Especially Servus Credit Union.

[cat336]

The law hanged at the end of June,2022. Because the lawyer skipped town with no forwarding address I had to find the witness from 1985 .I had to get her to sign an affidavit stating that was her signature and sign the back stating that was the will she signed. Signature's had to be signed in front of a commissionaire of oaths.

[esher]

If there is over $40,000 cash in the estate bank account, banks demand the will be probated. Especially Servus Credit Union. Someone smarter than me please explain why this should be. As I understand it probate is to do with property, assets have to with the executor, no?

[cat336]

Originally Posted by esher

If there is over $40,000 cash in the estate bank account, banks demand the will be probated. Especially Servus Credit Union. Someone smarter than me please explain why this should be. As I understand it probate is to do with property, assets have to with the executor, no?

TD's no different. Mom's was just over the twenty. TD locked it.I sent them a copy of the probate letter from the courts. Just over a month and still haven't released anything.

[ak77]

Originally Posted by robfraser

You don’t have to probate a will.

more info could be useful. I'm sure there's lots of "ifs" and "buts"..

Here's the scoop.
Mom passed away. Simple estate - almost no liabilities (appx 70k in the mortgage, maybe a 1K on line of creadit), almost no assets (I'm guessing about 70-80K in home equity). 5 kids, good relationships. Will is straight forward. However, 3 names out of 6 is misspelled, not majorly ("y" instead of "i", and such).

Called a few law companies... One asked when I wanted to come in for $325/hr consultation, other said $1800 for the whole shibang, + % of the estate value over 150K. (not sure if of the total value or "assets" - "liabilities" value).
Someone suggested to look into doing it ourselves.
If there's the kit i could buy/download I certainly wouldn't mind giving it a shot. Whoever suggested the court house - thanks, i'll go check it out.

[tbiddy]

MIL passed away 2 years ago and we’re still dealing with this. She lived in SK so it’s a little different. She had cancer and it came on fast (2 weeks from diagnosis till she passed). She didn’t have an official will but wrote out something and kept it in a drawer whenever she travelled just in case. Basically said everything is split 50/50 between my wife and her niece that they raised. And $1000 trust to our nieces son who was 4 at the time. All she had was a 20yr old house that was paid off when she died, a year old SUV that was paid off and $5k in the bank. The problem was she didn’t name an executor.

We tried doing it ourselves. Submitted stuff to the courthouse and it was returned with a note saying “good attempt but we should hire legal council”.

Hired a cheap lawyer and you get what you pay for. Been 2 years and it’s finally getting completed this week. Cost is around $2500 plus 1% of the estate. And in SK you pay $7 for every $1000 of the value of the estate. He dropped his percentage fee and I think the final bill will be just under $4k. My wife will be named the executor and the probate will be completed at the same time. Will be nice to finally be able to close this chapter.

So long story short, name an executor in the will and if possible get added to the deceaseds bank account before they pass. It makes things way easier if your name is on their account.

[huntinstuff]

[QUOTE=tbiddy;So long story short, name an executor in the will and if possible get added to the deceaseds bank account before they pass. It makes things way easier if your name is on their account.[/QUOTE]

Yes. IF you can find someone you trust, add them to your bank account. Completely eliminates financial probate of the will.

Otherwise, you pay the same lawyer who wrote your will to take that will before another lawyer (judge) to determine if the will is good.....nice scam.

One would think the lawyer who wrote the will, and now has to take it to a judge to determine its veracity, might see that.process somewhat insulting.........UNTIL he gets $2800 plus 1% of the estate...then his feelings aren't QUITE as hurt........

[ak77]

I am named an executor in the will.

[Buckwheat]

an easy way around probate for non registered bank accounts in Alberta is to make the account joint with the parent and one of the children. Once the parent passes the account continues on in the child’s name only, no probate required.

[pdog15]

I did this a while ago when there was a very good guide book available in the Self Help series. Without it, self-probating would be difficult. It was under BC law and there was very specific wording that had to be used at Land Titles. The problem was, the clerks would not tell me what it was so I had to keep guessing until I got the words right. Very maddening and delayed the process for a few days. Otherwise pretty straight forward.

[Bigrib]

Originally Posted by Buckwheat

an easy way around probate for non registered bank accounts in Alberta is to make the account joint with the parent and one of the children. Once the parent passes the account continues on in the child’s name only, no probate required.

YES !

( also is best to pre-pay for your funeral so that is one less thing your family will have to deal with )

[artie]

another thing to consider if you are the executor dealing with probate is the final income tax of the deceased.
You have to wait for the tax year to be complete so you can do the final taxes for the government
If you are the executor and have probate and have dispersed the funds you are responsible for paying any income tax owing
In some cases this is not much but if the govenment is asking for $1000.00 or whatever to close the tax account you are on the hook for that amount
I never dispersed any funds until the final income tax was done
Kept everything on the up and up as you never know when some sister or other relative will come at you.

[CanuckShooter]

Originally Posted by cat336

TD's no different. Mom's was just over the twenty. TD locked it.I sent them a copy of the probate letter from the courts. Just over a month and still haven't released anything.

Don't wait for them to contact you, it will be a long wait.

After you've given them a certified copy of the probate letter it should take no more than one week.

[2 Tollers]

I just went through probate this past fall. I was named executor and also have signing authority on the bank account. Alberta has moved to an on line system that no longer involves taking paper work down to work with a clerk of the court. At the time we submitted (October) there were some quirks with the new system. I chose to go with a lawyer due to this new method and found one that was flat fee plus the provincial cost of the probate. If you are in Alberta and considering doing this yourself check first on the on-line requirements - this might be a hurdle.

Banks are not your friend when it comes to cleaning up an estate.

[Joes]

If everything financial like bank acts, investments, land, home etc is joint with a living party - then you do not need to probate a will as it automatically is transferred to the living party. Not sure the situation for you but if this isn’t the case then unfortunately it will need to be done. So important yet sometimes so difficult to have conversations about these kinds of things ahead of time and it’s tuff to do ask to be added to make things easier later without potentially looking like a gold digger. But food for thought for anyone looking at wanting to make things easier for family once we are gone. As hard as it is to think about our mortality it can be worth the tuff convo. And even tougher if someone you love comes to you to discuss it cause no one wants to think about their life without someone they love but if someone comes to you to talk about it, if you can manage it, don’t shut them down, or not allow them to talk about their feelings. It’s a sure way to make things harder later and potentially harm a relationship. Prayers to anyone out there dealing with this and dealing with the loss of a loved one.

[huntinstuff]

My step by step process I went thru within the past 2 months. This was for probate of a bank acct only. All other property had been dealt with. I am the executor

Went to the bank. They froze the acct. Gave them a copy of death cert and will.

Went to lawyer. Provided names of the deceased's brothers and sisters and whether they are alive or not. Dates of death if possible.

Provided 3 months worth of bank statements to lawyer, one statement prior to death and 2 after death so lawyer can write up a financial statement for probate.

Lawyer applied online for probate and filed financial statement with courthouse in person.

I collected 2022 tax information, contacted accountant and requested a clearance letter from CRA. The clearance letter will come a year later after CRA checks to see if the deceased is in any arrears.

Lawyer and I look at past tax returns and we holdback twice the last paid amount into a trust in case there are CRA issues.

Obtain email granting probate. Attached to this email will be the "working copy" of the will. You MUST print this email AND working copy of the will and take it to the bank. Yes, you already gave them a copy of the will, but they also want the copy that is attached to the Grant of Probate.

The bank compiles the grant of probate, will, and death cert and send it to their committee who decide when to unfreeze the account so you can make some disbursements.

Regardless of the fact you just presented the bank with a Court of Kings Bench order of Probate, they still defer to their own legal team to decide.....

Most banks are unfamiliar with the new online probate so you are advised to take the alberta government "explanation" sheet from their website so the bank understands wth is going on.

Once the bank approves the unfreezing of the account, you can make disbursements, minus the $ from the trust.you set up in case CRA wants more $.

Once you received the "clearance letter" from CRA stating they have no further interest in the deceaseds assets, you can disburse whatever $ is left over.

Keep the bank account OPEN in case their is a CRA TAX REFUND for 2022 or some other unfinished transfers that need to be done. Only close the account AFTER you receive the CRA clearance later this year. There is no rush to close the account.


In short, find someone you trust, add them to your bank account so when you die, there is no probate for bank account.

A simple bank account, no debt, no loans, no complications but OVER about $40k will take 2-3 months to complete