Wills & Estates

Alberta wills are governed by the Wills and Succession Act. In general the person making the will must be at least eighteen, subject to limited exceptions, must have capacity, and must sign a written will in the presence of two witnesses who also sign, and those witnesses should not be beneficiaries or their spouses. A will written entirely in the handwriting of the will maker and signed by them can also be valid without witnesses. Formal defects create expensive problems later.

You can, and a valid homemade will is better than none at all. The difficulty is that most estate disputes come from wills that were technically valid but unclear, out of date, or blind to something the person did not consider: blended families, jointly held property, beneficiary designations on registered plans, a business interest, or a beneficiary who receives disability benefits. A properly drafted will usually costs far less than untangling the confusion it prevents.

A personal directive is an Alberta document in which you name someone to make personal, non financial decisions for you if you lose capacity, covering matters such as medical treatment, where you live, and who provides your care. It takes effect only once capacity is lost and that has been confirmed as the legislation requires. Without one, your family may need to apply to court for guardianship, which is slower, more public, and more expensive.

An enduring power of attorney appoints someone to manage your financial and property affairs, and the word enduring means the authority continues, or begins, if you lose mental capacity. It is the financial counterpart to a personal directive. You can have it take effect immediately or only on incapacity. Without one, a family member may have to apply for trusteeship through the court before they can deal with your bank accounts or property.

You are said to die intestate, and the Wills and Succession Act decides who inherits, using a fixed order based on your surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner and your descendants. That order may not reflect what you would have chosen, and blended families in particular can end up with results the deceased never intended. Someone must also apply to be appointed to administer the estate, which adds time, cost, and often family friction.

Probate is the court process confirming that a will is valid and that the personal representative has authority to act. It is not required for every estate. Banks, land titles, and investment firms usually insist on it before releasing significant assets or transferring real property, while small or jointly held assets may pass without it. Whether your estate will need probate depends on what you own and how it is held.

A straightforward estate commonly takes several months to a year, and complications extend that. Time goes into locating and valuing assets, obtaining the grant from the court, dealing with debts, and getting tax clearance from the Canada Revenue Agency before the final distribution. Personal representatives are usually wise not to distribute everything early, since they can be held personally responsible for amounts paid out that were owed elsewhere.

Often yes, because Alberta law can recognize a will that was validly made where it was signed. Recognition is not the same as suitability. Terminology, tax treatment, and the way real property is dealt with differ between jurisdictions, and a personal representative living outside Alberta can add cost and formality to the administration. If you have moved here or own property in more than one jurisdiction, have your existing documents reviewed in Alberta.

Review it every few years, and always after a major life event: marriage, separation or divorce, the birth of a child or grandchild, a death in the family, buying or selling property, starting or selling a business, or moving to another province. Also check that beneficiary designations on registered plans and insurance policies still match your intentions, since those assets pass outside the will and quietly override what the will says.

The personal representative, still commonly called the executor, gathers and secures the assets, identifies and pays debts and taxes, applies for probate where it is needed, keeps proper accounts, and distributes what remains according to the will. It is a fiduciary role with real personal exposure for mistakes. Choose someone organized and even handed, name an alternate, and make sure that person knows where your original documents are kept.