How to Apply for Letters Probate in Saskatchewan

Example: Ed, 84, spent forty years buying grain for an elevator outside Regina, and he keeps his papers the way he once kept scale tickets, everything labelled. One winter afternoon his granddaughter Priya, whom he has named as executor, helps him sort a box of statements into two piles. One holds the joint account he shares with Priya's mother and the life insurance policy that names a beneficiary. The other holds everything else. Ed has heard that the first pile is treated differently, and he is right in one respect: Saskatchewan's estate regulations say several kinds of assets, including joint deposit accounts and insurance payable to a named beneficiary, are not considered property of the deceased when the estate's value is calculated.^[NaN]

Sorting the box gave Priya a head start on what she will one day file. The sections below follow the Saskatchewan application from the court's power to grant it through to notice to claimants, drawing on the Act, the regulations and The King's Bench Rules. For the stages that come before and after, from securing the estate to the final distribution, our Canadian probate process guide has the full sequence.

When a Saskatchewan court can make a grant #

Under s. 4(1) of The Administration of Estates Act, letters probate or letters of administration may be granted on proof of two things. The first is a connection to the province: the deceased lived in Saskatchewan at death, or lived elsewhere but left property in Saskatchewan, or lived elsewhere and the executor or administrator will be a party to an action in Saskatchewan. The second is proof of the will, or of the fact that the deceased died without one.^[NaN]

The application package #

The King's Bench Rules set out the forms. Under Rule 16-11, an application for letters probate uses Form 16-11A, an application for administration with the will annexed uses Form 16-11B, and an application for administration without a will uses Form 16-11C.^[NaN]

Rule 16-12(1) lists what the application has to set out:

• the name, address and relationship to the deceased of every person entitled to share in the estate;
• the deceased's age and marital status at death; and
• that the applicant is at least 18, or is a trust company or the Public Guardian and Trustee.^[NaN]

The application is signed by the applicant and verified by and exhibited to the applicant's affidavit, which for probate is Form 16-13A (Rule 16-13). The applicant also files a statement in Form 16-14 showing all the real and personal property of the deceased at death (Rule 16-14).^[NaN] Proof of death goes in too; under Rule 16-10, it includes a statement or certificate of death from a funeral director, a coroner or the Registrar of Vital Statistics.^[NaN]

The rules and their forms are published by Publications Saskatchewan, and executors complete their own copies from there.

Proving the will #

Rule 16-19(1) says execution of a will is proved by one of the attesting witnesses, in an affidavit in Form 16-19A that may be sworn or affirmed "at any time after the will is signed."^[NaN] That timing is useful. A witness can complete the affidavit while everyone is still easy to reach, rather than years later. If no affidavit can be obtained from a witness, Rule 16-19(2) allows execution to be shown by other affidavits, such as evidence of the handwriting and signatures or from someone else who was present.^[NaN] Our explainer on the affidavit of execution describes the document in more detail.

Two other situations have their own forms. A holograph will is proved in Form 16-19B, and a will with alterations, interlineations, erasures or omissions calls for an affidavit of plight and condition in Form 16-19C (Rule 16-19(5) and (6)).^[NaN] For background on handwritten wills, see our guide to holograph wills.

Who has the right to apply #

The Act sets an order of priority. Where there is a will, s. 10 puts executors first, followed by several classes of beneficiaries and others, with the Public Guardian and Trustee last. Where there is no will, s. 11 lists, in order:

1. spouse;
2. children;
3. grandchildren and other issue;
4. parents;
5. siblings;
6. nephews and nieces;
7. next of kin of equal degree;
8. creditors; and
9. the Public Guardian and Trustee.^[NaN]

A named executor who does not want to act is not simply left off the paperwork. Under Rule 16-16(2), an executor who does not apply for a grant renounces in Form 16-16.^[NaN] For a look at what can go wrong when the executor and the family do not get along, see our case note on Figley v. Figley.

Safeguards built into the process #

Two safeguards sit inside the application. If a minor, or an adult who lacks capacity, is interested in the estate or may have a claim under The Dependants' Relief Act, 1996 or The Family Property Act, the application has to say so and a notice to the Public Guardian and Trustee in Form 16-12 is filed with it (s. 4.1(1) of the Act; Rule 16-12(2)).^[NaN]

And under s. 6(2), except on an order granted in exceptional circumstances, no grant issues until the local registrar receives a certificate from the registrar stating that no other application appears to have been made for the same deceased person.^[NaN]

Bonds, small estates and help from the registrar #

An administrator generally gives a bond under s. 20(2). Where there are no debts the estate is or may be liable for, a judge may dispense with the bond if the estate is within the small-estate limit, if the administrator is the beneficiary, or if everyone interested consents in writing, with the Public Guardian and Trustee consenting for minors (s. 20(4)).^[NaN]

Small estates have two further routes. Under s. 9(1) of the Act and s. 7 of the regulations, where the deceased's personal property is worth $25,000 or less and no Saskatchewan real property will pass through the estate, a judge may order the personal property paid out without a grant.^[NaN][NaN] Rule 16-36 covers applications for small estates. Separately, under s. 7(1) of the Act and s. 6(1) of the regulations, where the estate is worth $15,000 or less, a Saskatchewan resident entitled to apply (other than a creditor) can ask the local registrar to prepare the papers.^[NaN][NaN]

Notice to claimants and the court levy #

Section 32(1) says an executor or administrator may publish a notice to claimants. The section is permissive rather than mandatory. Where a notice is published, s. 8 of the regulations sets the method: once a week for 2 successive weeks in the newspaper nearest the deceased's last residence or one a judge designates, or for 30 days on the NoticeConnect website.^[NaN][NaN]

A court levy applies to a Saskatchewan grant. For the figures, read our Saskatchewan probate fees article or run your own numbers through the probate fee calculator. Because the regulations leave certain assets out of the estate's value, as Ed's sorting showed, the list in s. 9(4) is worth reading before the statement of property is drawn up.

Getting ahead of it #

An executor's file comes together more easily when the person who made the will has done a little sorting of their own: where the will is, who witnessed it, which assets pass by beneficiary designation or joint ownership, and who the family members are. Our Saskatchewan will guide covers the signing rules, and the Saskatchewan will page collects the basics.

If your own will is still on the to-do list, It's Simple Will can help you get it started, so your executor inherits a tidier box than Ed's.