What Are an Executor's Legal Duties in Alberta?

Being named as executor can feel like an honour and a burden at the same time. In Alberta, the law gives the role a clear shape, and knowing it early helps you avoid mistakes while you are also grieving.

Alberta's Estate Administration Act uses the term personal representative for the person who administers an estate. This article uses "executor" and "personal representative" to mean the same role and explains the duties in plain language. It is general information, not advice on your situation.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

The four core tasks

Section 7 of the Estate Administration Act sets out what a personal representative actually does. The Alberta government's guidance describes the same four tasks.

• Identify the estate's assets and liabilities.
• Administer and manage the estate.
• Satisfy the estate's debts and obligations.
• Distribute the estate and account for the administration.

Subject to the will and the law, you may take possession and control of estate property and do what the deceased could have done. Once a grant issues, only the personal representative named in it may act for the estate until the grant is revoked or the representative is discharged. If there are co-personal representatives, they must act unanimously unless the will or the Court says otherwise.

The standard of care you must meet

Section 5(1) requires you to act honestly and in good faith, follow the testator's intentions and the will, use ordinary prudence, and distribute the estate as soon as practicable. "As soon as practicable" is a flexible phrase. It is not a fixed deadline, and how long an estate takes depends on its facts.

Certain duties from the Trustee Act also apply to personal representatives, with the wording adapted to estates. There is a higher bar for professionals: a personal representative with a skill level above ordinary prudence, such as a trust company, must exercise that higher skill when acting professionally.

Notices, inventories and creditors

Much of the work is telling the right people what is happening. The exact steps depend on whether a grant is needed, so confirm them for your estate.

• If you are named in a will and act without a grant, you must give notice to beneficiaries, family members, spouses, adult interdependent partners, the Public Trustee and others.
• If you apply for a grant, you must serve the application and rights notices on specified spouses, partners, dependent children, attorneys, trustees, the Public Trustee and guardians, although the Court may dispense with service.
• The application is served with an inventory in Form GA2 on each residuary beneficiary, intestacy beneficiary and person served under s. 11.
• After a grant issues, you must serve a Form GA7 notice of grant within 30 days on each person listed in Form GA1 who requires notification.
• If a minor has an interest, you must give the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee a copy of the grant application and a GA4 Notice to Public Trustee form.

You also notify creditors. For an estate with a gross value of $100,000 or less, the notice to claimants is published at least once; for a larger estate, at least twice with 5 days or more between publications. A claimant must notify you not more than 1 month after the last notice is published, and a late claimant may proceed only with the court's prior consent. After following the notice rules, you may distribute based on known claims and are not liable for unknown claims, although claimants may still pursue the beneficiaries who received the assets.

Paying debts, the funeral and accounting

The estate pays burial and funeral expenses, and the personal representative or executor is responsible for arranging them. If the estate lacks funds, the funeral home can apply to the Alberta government for assistance.

If assets are not enough to cover everything, valid money claims are paid proportionately, subject to existing mortgages and the common-law priority for funeral and administration costs. Mortgaged property is primarily liable for its own mortgage unless the will or another document shows otherwise.

You must also account. That means preparing financial statements of money and property received, distributed and paid out, and giving them to the beneficiaries. Unless the court orders a longer or shorter period, an accounting is due every 2 years after the date of death or the end of the last accounting period. The court may require an accounting at any time, and an interested person may apply for one. A beneficiary of only a specific gift is entitled to an accounting limited to that gift, and if they have already received the gift, they may not apply for an accounting order under rule 97(3).

Asking the court, and what happens if duties are not met

You do not have to guess. You or a person interested in the estate may apply to the court for directions at any time. A personal representative may also apply for advice or direction on any question about managing or administering the estate, and acting on that direction discharges the duty. The exception is a direction obtained by fraud, concealment or misrepresentation.

If duties are not met, a personal representative is liable for the duties and liabilities imposed by the Act, the will, other law or the Court, and can be compelled to discharge them. If you fail to give required notice or perform your duties, the Court may, on application, order compliance, impose conditions, remove you, revoke a grant or make other orders.

What to do next

• Locate the will and confirm you are the person named; Alberta has no will registry, so check the home, a safety deposit box and any lawyer's office.
• Order death certificates through an Alberta registry agent; if you are outside Alberta, you can mail the forms through Registry Connect or AMA instead, since applications sent directly to Vital Statistics are not processed.
• Keep clear records of everything received and paid out, since you will need to account.
• List the people you must notify and the forms that apply to your estate.
• If you do not want the role or cannot act, ask about renouncing in Form GA11.
• Speak with a lawyer before distributing anything, especially if the estate is large, has disputes or involves a minor.

Frequently asked questions