How to Apply for Probate in Manitoba: Forms and Filing

Example: Ray, 74, a retired seed-plant manager in Steinbach, asks his son Kevin to stay on after Sunday dinner. Kevin has agreed to be Ray's executor, and Ray wants him to see what that will involve on paper. They open the Manitoba court forms on a laptop and read down the list: a Request for Probate, an inventory and valuation, an affidavit from one of the people who watched Ray sign his will. Kevin notices a line saying the witness's affidavit must not be sworn before the other witness to the will,^[NaN] and he writes both witnesses' names and phone numbers on a card for Ray's folder.

That kind of preview is what this guide is for. It walks through how an application for a grant of probate generally works in Manitoba, using the court's own rules, so an executor has a sense of what the file is likely to hold. For the overall sequence across Canada, from locating the will to the final distribution, see our step-by-step guide to the probate process.

Which court, and where #

The Court of King's Bench Surrogate Practice Act vests all jurisdiction over "matters and causes testamentary" in the Court of King's Bench (s. 6).^[NaN] Grants of probate or administration may be made at any judicial centre (s. 8), and a grant from one judicial centre has the same force and effect as one from any other and has effect throughout the province (s. 10).^[NaN]

For an executor, the practical upshot is that the centre where the request is filed does not limit where the grant can be relied on inside Manitoba.

What the executor files #

Rule 74.02(1) of the Court of King's Bench Rules lists what a person requesting probate of a will must file. In plain terms:

• a request for probate (Form 74A);
• the original will, unless the lost-will rule applies;
• an inventory and valuation of the deceased's property (Form 74B);
• proof that the will was properly executed;
• proof of death;
• any security required under the rules;
• where someone with a prior right to act as executor no longer wishes to act, a renunciation of probate with an affidavit of execution of renunciation; and
• any additional materials the rule calls for.^[NaN]

The province's forms page lists the request for probate, the inventory and valuation and the affidavit of execution, among others, and marks several with a user-friendly Word version.^[NaN] The court publishes the forms; executors complete their own copies from that page.

Proving the will was signed properly #

Under Rule 74.02(4), execution of the will must be proved by an affidavit of execution (Form 74D) from one of the subscribing witnesses, or as the court directs, and the affidavit must not be sworn before another witness to the will.^[NaN] Our explainer on the affidavit of execution covers what that document generally contains.

Handwritten wills follow their own path. For a holograph will, Rule 74.02(9) calls for affidavit evidence establishing four things, along with the facts the person swearing relies on:

1. the will is the deceased's last will;
2. the handwriting and the signature are the deceased's;
3. the testator was the full age of majority when the will was made; and
4. the testator was of sound mind, memory and understanding at that time.^[NaN]

Our guide to holograph wills explains what makes a will holograph in the first place.

Proof of death and the value of the estate #

Rule 74.01(3) accepts several kinds of proof of death. They include an original death certificate from the Director of Vital Statistics or an equivalent official elsewhere, an original certificate from a practising physician, an original certificate from a funeral director licenced in a Canadian province or territory, a certified copy of a presumption of death order, or other documentary evidence the court finds acceptable.^[NaN]

The inventory uses market value net of debts against the property. Rule 74.10(1) says the value of property for probate or administration purposes is its fair market value, less the amount of any encumbrances.^[NaN] That figure matters because the bond rules below turn on value. For what the court charges in Manitoba, see our Manitoba probate fees article, and the probate fee calculator lets you compare provinces.

When the original will cannot be found #

A lost or destroyed original does not automatically close the door to probate. Under Rule 74.02(3), a person may still request probate by filing a copy of the will if one is available, affidavit evidence about the loss or destruction, and consents from everyone who would have a financial or proprietary interest in the estate had the deceased died without a valid will, unless the court orders otherwise.^[NaN]

The consent piece can be the hard part, because it reaches the people who would inherit on an intestacy, who may not be the people the will names. That is a good reason to keep the signed original somewhere known. One simple arrangement is a safe at home for the original and a copy in a safety deposit box at your bank, with the executor told where both are.

No will, or an executor who will not act #

Where there is no will, the request is for letters of administration rather than probate. Rule 74.04(1) calls for a request for letters of administration (Form 74L), the inventory and valuation (Form 74B), proof of death, a nomination of administrator or renunciations from everyone with an equal or superior right to administer, and the security required under the rules.^[NaN]

Residence matters here. Section 7(1) of the Act says administration shall not be granted to a person who is not habitually resident in Manitoba. For executors, s. 7(2) says probate is not granted to a person not habitually resident in Canada unless that person gives the same kind of security an administrator gives, although the court may reduce or dispense with it in special circumstances.^[NaN]

If a named executor simply never applies, the rules offer a way forward. Under Rule 74.02(21), any interested person may apply for an order (Form 74I) requiring the executor to accept or refuse probate, or to show why letters of administration with will annexed should not go to the applicant or another willing person.^[NaN]

Bonds, and estates small enough to skip a grant #

An administrator, including one appointed with the will annexed, generally gives a bond under s. 25(1) of the Act. Unless a judge directs a lower amount, the bonds together total double the sworn value of the property affected by the grant (s. 25(3)).^[NaN] Two rules soften that. Where every beneficiary is an adult capable of consenting and does consent, a judge may direct that the grant be made without a bond, or without sureties to the bond (s. 25(4)). And where the sworn value is $50,000 or less, no surety is required for the bond (s. 25(5)).^[NaN]

Very small estates may not need a grant at all. Under s. 47(1), where the total value of all the deceased's property does not exceed $10,000 so far as can reasonably be ascertained, the court may, without a grant of probate or administration, order the personal property paid or delivered to a person it names. That person uses it for reasonable funeral expenses and the deceased's debts, then pays over any balance as the section directs.^[NaN] The request is made on Form 74FF, which appears on the province's forms page.^[NaN]

Preparing the file while there is time #

Much of the work in a Manitoba application is gathering information the deceased could have written down. A will that names an executor and a backup, two witnesses whose contact details the family can find, and a current list of what you own all make the request for probate easier to assemble. Our Manitoba will guide covers the signing rules, and the Manitoba will page gathers the province's basics.

If you have not yet made the will your executor will one day file, you can start your will with It's Simple Will and give them a clearer path.