Can an Executor Live Outside Alberta? Bonds and Grants

If you have been named executor but live in another province or another country, you may wonder whether you can still apply for a grant in Alberta. Many people in this situation are far from the estate and want to know what extra steps to expect.

Living outside Alberta does not automatically rule you out, but it brings a security requirement that resident executors usually avoid. This article explains how that works and the options for easing it.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

When Alberta rules apply

The Estate Administration Act applies if the deceased was an Alberta resident or owned Alberta property at death, or the Court finds a grant necessary. So if the person who died owned land or other property in Alberta, Alberta's process may apply even if you live elsewhere.

With a will, priority for a grant runs from the named personal representative down to the Crown. Among equals, residents are preferred, and the Court may choose among equal applicants. Being named gives you priority, but residence can matter if there are competing applicants of equal rank.

The bond requirement

No grant issues without a bond or other security unless the Rules or another enactment provide otherwise. A non-resident personal representative must provide a bond or other security approved by the court. The bond amount is the gross value of the Alberta property, less any amount the court orders deducted for the representative's own beneficial share.

If you are also a beneficiary, that deduction may reduce the amount, but it is for the court to decide. A bond protects beneficiaries and creditors if something goes wrong with the administration.

Ways the bond may not apply or may be reduced

When deciding, the court considers the interests of beneficiaries and claimants. Whether a request succeeds depends on the facts of the estate.

If you are not named as executor in the will but live in Alberta, an interested person can seek a bond from you. So the bond question can arise for residents too in that situation.

Practical points for applying from outside Alberta

• Surrogate Digital Service is preferred for self-represented applicants, but they must be Alberta residents and one of the applicants.
• Paper applications filed on or after June 15, 2022 use the GA forms.
• Death certificates are ordered through an Alberta registry agent. Applicants outside Alberta can mail the forms through Registry Connect or AMA, and applications sent directly to Vital Statistics are not processed.
• An executor named in the will can apply for a death certificate with a copy of the will attached.

If you must serve notices, remember that an applicant for a grant must serve the application and rights notices on specified spouses, partners, dependent children, attorneys, trustees, the Public Trustee and guardians, unless the Court dispenses with service. Working from a distance makes a local lawyer especially useful for this.

Grants from other places, and what to do next

If a grant was already issued where the deceased lived, the Court may reseal a foreign grant, giving it the same effect as an Alberta grant, subject to security requirements. Where the deceased resided in a jurisdiction not covered by that rule, an ancillary grant is available for Alberta property, limited to Alberta property and debts. Which route fits depends on where the deceased lived and what grants already exist.

• List the deceased's Alberta property and estimate its gross value.
• Find out whether any co-executor lives in Alberta.
• Ask whether beneficiaries would sign a Form GA14 consent to waive or reduce a bond.
• Check whether a grant already exists elsewhere that could be resealed.
• Speak with an Alberta lawyer about the bond, forms and service before you apply.

Frequently asked questions