
common
questions
We know that most people don’t deal with legal matters every day, but we do. We've compiled some commonly asked questions that our clients have.
The information and material on these pages and any other pages referenced are meant to provide general information only. You should consult with a licensed legal professional in your jurisdiction before relying on any of the information provided on this page or any other page on this website.
The information provided is specific to the jurisdiction of Saskatchewan, Canada.
- 01
If there is a valid will with an executor that is appointed and able to act, that person gets their authority to act pursuant to the will. If you are up for the job and want to administer the estate, then as executor you can go ahead and start dealing with the deceased’s assets.
While the administration of each estate depends on the specific assets and circumstances of the deceased, there are some initial things that the executor can do shortly after death. These are usually some of the most common tasks that an executor will be able to do immediately after death:
Make funeral arrangements
Locate the original will
Deal with any pets
Apply for CPP Death Benefit/Survivor’s Benefit
Cancel memberships and subscriptions
Take an inventory of assets
There is more to do, but often taking these steps is a good start.
- 02
Letters probate is the name of the court grant that is issued when there is a will that has an executor that has been appointed and is willing and able to act. Obtaining a grant of letters probate from the court confirms the validity of the will and the appointment of the executor.
- 03
No. This concept is misunderstood by both clients and other professionals. Generally, if there is a requirement for a court grant, then the specific name of the grant will depend on the particular situation:
Letters probate – There is a will and an executor in the will who is able and willing to act.
Letters of administration – There is no will and therefore no executor appointed.
Letters of administration with will annexed – There is a will but there is no executor appointed or able to act.
Resealing of foreign grant – There is when there is a court grant from another jurisdiction but there is property located in Saskatchewan. In this situation, the original grant from the other jurisdiction needs to be confirmed by the court in Saskatchewan.
While the name of each specific grant depends on the certain circumstances, if you are the person obtaining any of these grants, you will have the ability to fully deal with all estate assets once you receive the relevant grant from the court.
- 04
The application includes basic personal information about the deceased such as their date and place of death, age at death, martial status - to name a few items in particular. It also requires rather detailed information about the assets and values of assets that the deceased had an interest in at the date of their death.
Gathering this information can be relatively easy if the executor is familiar with the deceased’s affairs. It can be much more challenging if the executor is not familiar with the deceased’s affairs, or, the deceased had many different assets. Essentially, the more property that the deceased had, the more time it will likely take to gather the information needed to apply to the court. If you are an executor and you are having trouble getting the information you need, or you find this too overwhelming, you may want to consider engaging a lawyer to assist with this part of the estate administration.
- 05
It can be possible to administer an estate start to finish without having to submit any documents to the court. There are some situations where getting a grant from the court in Saskatchewan will be required before you can deal with certain assets in the estate:
There is a title in the Land Titles Registry that is registered solely in the name of the deceased - If an individual dies and they have a surface or mineral parcel registered solely in their name (e.g. home, cabin, condo, farmland, mineral rights, etc.) in the Land Titles Registry in Saskatchewan, then a court grant (be it letters probate or another type of grant depending on the circumstances) will always be required to ultimately transfer that property out of the deceased individual’s name.
Third party request/policy – If the deceased had other assets solely in their name that are part of their estate, (e.g. bank account solely in their name), the third party you are dealing with may require a grant from the court before they will release the funds/asset. The most common third party that would require a court grant before releasing funds would be a financial institution.
Questions regarding validity of will – In certain situations an order from the court may be required when there is a dispute as to the validity of a will.
- 06
Some people are able to complete the application on their own but keep in mind that there are specific court forms that need to be properly prepared and submitted . These documents are actually looked at by a judge who will determine if you have met all of the technical requirements in the legislation. These forms must be filled in properly and accurately and if they are not, then the judge will not grant your application. If that happens, you will have to pick up your application from the court and fix the issues and then resubmit it again (and possibly again if you made more than one error). This can be frustrating for people and often leads to delay in getting the court grant and being able to access or otherwise deal with certain assets in the estate.
- 07
Legal counsel can provide very helpful advice in even standard situations, but you may wish to hire a lawyer to prepare the application for letters probate if:
There are minors involved in the estate
The interpretation of the will is not clear
The will was not signed properly
There is a will but none of the executors are able to act
The executor is not in Saskatchewan
The executor has no time/desire/experience to prepare the court application
If any of these facts are present, there will likely be added complexity to the application (and sometimes additional documents).
- 08
There are specific rules regarding how much lawyers can charge for preparing these types of court applications. Generally, the maximum fee that lawyers can charge for preparing a straightforward application with no wrinkles or additional issues that need to be addressed, is based on the value of the estate property. These fees are calculated as follows:
- $1,500.00 plus
- 1% on the first $500,000.00 of the value of the estate;
- 0.75% on the next $500,000.00 of the value of the estate; and
- 0.5% on the remaining value of the estate.
This is not necessarily how much each lawyer will charge, but this is the most that we can charge for a straightforward application. If there are additional issues that need to be addressed, additional fees could apply.
- 09
The “probate fees” are the fees paid to the court when an application for letters probate is submitted. These court fees are 0.7% of the value of the estate. There is also an additional $200.00 court levy. If there is real property that the deceased owned solely in their name and no minor beneficiaries of the estate, there is an additional Certificate that needs to be requested for $25.00. All of these fees must be submitted with the application when it is submitted to the court.
Both legal fees and the court fees that need to be paid are considered valid estate expenses. This means that these expenses can be paid with estate funds.
- 10
You should not expect to obtain letters probate in a couple days. In many cases it can take weeks (if not months) to even gather the information that must be included on the application.
Once you have gathered the information, I try my best to prepare the draft application documents within a couple of weeks. When the application is complete and accurate, it can then be signed and submitted to the court for review. There is no way to expedite a grant being ordered. The court staff work as diligently as possible to process applications in a timely manner and it typically takes several weeks to receive letters probate once it has been submitted to the court.
- 11
Please reach out to me directly at reception@claritylawsk.com or visit our Contact Us Page.
When you contact me in relation to an estate, please provide the following information:
Your name;
The name of the deceased and relation of that person to you;
Date of death; and
Whether or not the deceased had a will.
Providing me with this basic information will allow me to reach out to you as soon as possible.
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