Estate Inventory Checklist: What to Collect When Settling an Estate in Alberta

You have been named executor, the funeral is over, and now the real work begins. Before you can apply for probate, close bank accounts, or distribute a single dollar, you need a complete inventory of everything the deceased owned and owed. In Alberta, this inventory directly feeds the GA2 form required by the Court of King's Bench — and any errors or omissions can delay your probate application by weeks or expose you to personal liability.

Here is exactly what to collect, where to look for hidden assets, and why the inventory determines more than you think.

Why the Inventory Matters More Than You Expect

The estate inventory is not just paperwork. It drives three critical decisions in Alberta estate settlement:

It determines whether you need probate at all. Alberta has no statutory small estate threshold. Whether you need a Grant of Probate depends on what asset holders require. Banks set their own internal thresholds — typically $25,000 to $50,000 — above which they demand a court grant before releasing funds. The Land Titles Office always requires a grant to transfer real property held in sole name. Without a complete inventory, you cannot make this determination accurately.

It calculates the probate fee. Alberta probate fees are calculated on the net estate value — total assets minus total debts. This is fundamentally different from Ontario and British Columbia, which charge fees on the gross estate value. In Alberta, the maximum surrogate court fee is $525 for estates over $250,000, plus a $300 flat fee to open the court file. An accurate inventory that properly accounts for debts can drop you into a lower fee tier.

It populates the GA2 form. The GA2 (Inventory of Property) is a mandatory part of every probate application in Alberta. It requires a detailed listing of all assets inside and outside the province, their values at the date of death, and all known debts. Submitting an incomplete or inaccurate GA2 triggers requisitions from the court clerk — written requests for corrections that restart the processing clock.

Real Estate

For each property the deceased owned, you need:

• The civic address and the exact legal land description (required for all Land Titles forms — find it on the property tax assessment or the existing Certificate of Title)
• The ownership structure: joint tenancy or sole owner/tenants-in-common — this determines whether the property enters the estate at all
• The fair market value at the date of death (a recent property tax assessment works for the GA2, though the Land Titles Office may require a formal appraisal for transfers)
• Any outstanding mortgage balance

Joint tenancy property passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant by right of survivorship and does not form part of the estate. You still need to document it, but it will not appear on the GA2 or count toward the probate fee calculation. Sole-owner or tenants-in-common property does enter the estate and requires a Grant of Probate for transfer.

Financial Accounts

Contact every financial institution where the deceased held accounts:

• Chequing and savings accounts (bank name, branch, account number, balance at date of death)
• Term deposits and GICs
• RRSPs and RRIFs — check whether a named beneficiary exists on the account. If there is a named beneficiary, the RRSP bypasses the estate entirely. If the beneficiary is "the estate," it forms part of the estate and is taxable.
• TFSAs — same beneficiary rules as RRSPs
• Non-registered investment accounts and brokerage accounts
• Any accounts held at credit unions or ATB Financial

For each account, confirm whether it is held jointly or solely. Joint accounts with right of survivorship pass outside the estate.

The Alberta estate settlement guide includes a pre-built inventory worksheet aligned to the GA2 form categories, so every asset you document maps directly to the court filing.

Life Insurance and Pensions

• Life insurance policies — obtain the policy number, insurer, face value, and named beneficiary. Policies with a named beneficiary (other than "the estate") pay out directly and bypass probate.
• Employer pension plans — contact the deceased's employer HR department for the pension statement and beneficiary designation
• CPP entitlements — the estate may be eligible for the $2,500 death benefit (up to $5,000 with the 2025 top-up for qualifying contributors)
• OAS and GIS — these stop at death, but overpayments after the date of death must be repaid from the estate

Vehicles, Personal Property, and Valuables

• Vehicles (make, model, year, VIN, estimated value) — Alberta registries handle vehicle title transfers
• Boats, ATVs, RVs, snowmobiles
• Jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles with significant value
• Firearms (these have specific federal transfer requirements under the Firearms Act)
• Tools, equipment, and household contents — a lump-sum estimate is acceptable for the GA2 unless individual items have significant value

Digital Assets

This category is increasingly important and frequently overlooked:

• Email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, etc.)
• Social media accounts (Facebook legacy contact settings, Instagram)
• Digital wallets and cryptocurrency holdings
• Online banking and investment platform logins
• Subscription services with stored payment methods
• Cloud storage containing photos, documents, or intellectual property
• Domain names, websites, and online business accounts

There is no universal legal framework for digital asset succession in Canada. Each platform has its own deceased-user policy. Document what exists, then work through each platform's process individually.

Debts and Liabilities

The debt side of the inventory is just as critical — it reduces the net estate value for probate fee purposes and determines whether the estate is solvent:

• Credit card balances (note: these are unsecured debts and rank below secured creditors and the CRA)
• Outstanding mortgage balance
• Lines of credit
• Personal loans
• Vehicle loans
• Income tax owing — request the deceased's most recent Notice of Assessment from the CRA
• Property tax arrears
• Utility bills
• Medical bills not covered by Alberta Health Care
• Funeral expenses (these are a priority claim against the estate)

Where to Find Hidden Assets

Executors routinely miss assets because they only look in the obvious places. These discovery methods catch the rest:

The deceased's most recent tax return. The T1 lists employment income, investment income, rental income, pension income, and capital gains — all of which point to assets you might not know about.

Mail redirection. Set up Canada Post mail forwarding from the deceased's address to yours. Within 60 days, you will receive statements from financial institutions, subscription renewals, property tax notices, and insurance premium demands that reveal accounts you did not know existed.

Safe deposit boxes. Check with the deceased's primary bank. Opening a safe deposit box after death in Alberta requires your authority as executor (with the will or grant) and the bank's specific procedures.

CRA My Account. If you can access the deceased's CRA My Account (or request access as the legal representative), the account shows all T-slips filed by employers, banks, and investment firms — a complete map of the deceased's financial relationships.

The inventory phase takes most executors two to four weeks of steady effort. Rushing it leads to an incomplete GA2, which leads to court requisitions, which adds weeks to the probate timeline. Do it thoroughly the first time.

For the complete step-by-step estate settlement process — from the first 48 hours through final CRA clearance and beneficiary distribution — the Alberta estate settlement guide provides chronological checklists, form-by-form instructions, and the inventory worksheet that maps directly to the GA2 filing.

See more Alberta guides →