Protect What Matters. Plan with Clarity. Settle with Peace of Mind.

Estate planning involves preparing for the management and distribution of your assets before and after your death. This includes creating wills, trusts, health care directives and powers of attorney to ensure your wishes are followed.

A Will sets out your instructions regarding the management and distribution of your assets after death. This includes appointing someone (your Executor) to carry out these wishes and also setting out who is entitled to inherit your assets (your Beneficiaries). If you do not have a Will, The Administration of Estates Act will set out who is entitled to carry out your wishes and who inherits. Your Will also allows you to make guardianship arrangements for minor or dependent children. It is especially recommended to have a Will if the following circumstances apply to you:

• You own land/property in your sole name
• You have significant unregistered investments
• You own property in another province or country
• You own a business or corporation
• You have minor children
• Your intended beneficiaries are not biologically related to you

A power of attorney is a document that appoints someone else to manage your assets (Property Attorney) and your personal affairs (Personal Attorney) while you are unable to do so. A Power of Attorney is only active during your lifetime and ends upon your death and can be used while you are merely unavailable or when you have lost the capacity to care for yourself due to accident or illness.

While we strongly encourage everyone to have a Power of Attorney, they are especially important if the following circumstances apply to you:

• You own land/property in your sole name or joint with another person
• You own a business or corporation
• You travel frequently

A Power of Attorney can manage your assets, including but not limited to everyday banking, selling, transferring or mortgaging property, making and managing investments, paying or managing debts and commencing or continuing litigation on your behalf.

In the event that you no longer have the capacity to care for yourself, a Power of Attorney can also decide where you live, decide who can come visit you, can have access to your medical information and can also make some medical decisions on your behalf.

Your Power of Attorney cannot:

• Change the beneficiary designations you have made on your insurance policies, RRSPs, RRIFs or TFSAs
• Change or create a Will on your behalf
• Transfer land to their own name
• Consent to MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) on your behalf
• Consent to end of life care, consent to a DNR or consent to organ donation

A health directive (also sometimes called a “living will”) sets out the health care that you wish to receive (or not receive) when you are unable to communicate your wishes due to accident or illness. It also typically names your “proxy” who can make medical decisions for your when you are unable to.

Without a health directive, your “next of kin”, typically your spouse, child or parent, is automatically your proxy so they are especially important to have if you do not wish to have your biological family in charge of your medical decisions.

Estate administration is the process in which your assets are dealt with after your death. This may or may not involve the Courts in Saskatchewan depending on the nature of your assets. If you have a Will, typically this process is called “probate” but if you do not have a Will or if your Executor is unable to act, it is simply referred to as “administration”.

How your assets are administered after your death is either set out in your Will or is governed by The Estate Administration Act in Saskatchewan. 

Your Estate is essentially all of your assets in your name at the time of your death. This typically includes real property like land, houses, cabins, etc, bank accounts, investments, vehicles and may also includes debts that are owed to you as well as insurance policies.

Assets that are not considered part of your Estate are thinks like jointly owned property, joint bank accounts (in some circumstances), registered assets with named beneficiaries and life insurance policies with beneficiaries. These assets flow outside of your “estate” as they typically go directly to the joint owner or named beneficiaries. However, these assets can become part of your Estate if the original beneficiary or joint owner passes away before you.

Probate is the legal process of validating a will with the Court. It is not required in every circumstance and sometimes it is possibly avoided with the assistance of an experienced estate lawyer.

Letters Probate or Letters of Administration are typically required when land is owned in sole name or if bank or financial institution requires it due to the deceased’s significant assets. It can also be required if assets are owned outside of Saskatchewan or Canada.

The probate fees charged in Saskatchewan are $7 per every $1000 of asset value. They are not charged on the value of any joint assets or assets with designated beneficiaries. Legal fees for preparing and filing the Court application will be also charged and can vary based upon the value and complexity of the estate. Contact Bridge City Law Office directly for a quote on legals fees.

The duration of the administration process can vary widely, typically ranging from a few months to over a year, depending on the complexity of the estate and any disputes that may arise. The first step in any estate administration process is to gather information. The Executor (or the lawyer on their behalf) must find and value all of the deceased’s assets and debts. This can include reaching out to financial institutions, advertising for debts in newspapers and working with accountants to determine any outstanding tax issues. Once the information is gathered, the Court application can be prepared and must then be signed by all Executors. It will then be submitted to the Courts for their review and this review will typically take six to eight weeks, but can be longer.

We will need to meet with the Executor(s) to begin the Estate Administration process. They will need to bring in the original Will and any other Will-like documents they have found. We will also need an original death certificate, typically provided by the funeral home. The Provincial death certificate is not required in all circumstances.

We will also require a general list of the deceased’s assets.