Grant of Probate Alberta: How to Apply and What It Costs

The bank will not release the funds. The Land Titles Office will not transfer the house. Every institution you contact asks for the same thing: a Grant of Probate from the Court of King's Bench. In Alberta, this court order is the legal key that unlocks the estate — and getting it requires navigating a specific sequence of forms, fees, and waiting periods that trips up most first-time executors.

Here is exactly how the process works, what it costs, and how long it takes.

Grant of Probate vs. Grant of Administration

These are two different court orders, but they serve the same purpose: authorizing someone to administer the estate.

A Grant of Probate is issued when the deceased left a valid will. The court confirms the will is genuine and authorizes the named executor to act. The executor applies using the GA (Grant Application) form family.

A Grant of Administration is issued when the deceased died without a will (intestate). The court appoints an administrator — typically the surviving spouse or closest family member — to settle the estate according to the intestacy rules in the Wills and Succession Act. The applicant uses the same GA forms but must also demonstrate their priority to be appointed.

One key difference: administrators are often required to post a surety bond equal to the gross estate value, protecting beneficiaries against mismanagement. Executors named in a will are generally not required to post a bond unless the court has concerns.

Both applications go through the Surrogate Court of the Court of King's Bench.

The GA Form Sequence

In June 2022, Alberta replaced the old NC (Non-Contentious) forms with the GA (Grant Application) form series. The forms must be completed in a specific order — filing out of sequence results in the court clerk rejecting your application.

GA1 — Grant Application. The core application form. It identifies the deceased, the applicant, the type of grant requested (probate or administration), and the estimated estate value.

GA2 — Inventory of Property. A detailed schedule of all assets (inside and outside Alberta) and all debts, valued at the date of death. This is the most time-consuming form — it requires account balances, property values, and debt totals that you can only obtain by contacting every financial institution and reviewing every asset.

GA3 — Notice to Beneficiaries. Before the court will process your application, you must serve this notice on every beneficiary named in the will (or every person entitled under intestacy). Each beneficiary must receive a copy of the GA1, GA2, and GA3. If a beneficiary is entitled to the estate's residue, you must also provide a copy of the will.

GA4 — Notice to Public Trustee. Required only if any beneficiary is a minor (under 18) or a represented adult. The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee reviews the application to protect the vulnerable beneficiary's interests.

GA5 — Affidavit of Service. After serving all required notices, you swear this affidavit confirming who was served, when, and how. This is the final piece — only after GA5 is complete can the full package be submitted to the court.

The entire package — GA1 through GA5, plus the original will, plus the death certificate — is submitted together to the Surrogate Court.

How to Submit: Digital or Paper

Self-represented applicants who reside in Alberta can choose between two submission methods:

Surrogate Digital Service (SDS). An online portal that allows electronic submission. Processing through SDS is generally faster — clean applications may clear in 2 to 4 weeks. Lawyers are required to use SDS; self-represented applicants may use it voluntarily.

Paper submission. Physical forms mailed or couriered to the judicial centre closest by road to where the deceased last resided. If the deceased lived outside Alberta but owned property in the province, submit to the judicial centre closest to the property.

Out-of-province applicants cannot use SDS and must submit paper applications. They should also be prepared for the court to require a surety bond.

What It Costs

Alberta has the lowest probate fees in Canada — a welcome surprise for executors coming from provinces like Ontario (where fees run 1.5% of the gross estate) or British Columbia (1.4% over $50,000).

Alberta's fee structure:

Plus a flat $300 court file opening fee regardless of estate size.

The total maximum cost for a $2-million estate in Alberta is $825 ($525 + $300). In Ontario, the same estate would cost $29,250 in probate fees. This is why Alberta executors should not engage in complex legal manoeuvres to avoid probate — the fees are so low that the cost of avoidance strategies often exceeds the fees themselves.

Note that fees are calculated on net estate value (assets minus debts), not gross. An accurate debt inventory directly reduces your fee.

How Long It Takes

Processing times vary significantly depending on the courthouse and whether the application is complete:

• SDS (digital), clean application: 2 to 4 weeks
• Paper, clean application: 6 to 12 weeks
• Application with requisitions (corrections needed): Add 4 to 8 weeks per round of corrections
• Complex or contested applications: 3 to 6 months or longer

Edmonton's surrogate court frequently runs longer backlogs than smaller judicial centres. If the deceased resided near the boundary between two judicial districts, check whether the neighbouring centre has shorter processing times — you are required to file at the closest centre by road, but sometimes a minor difference in distance gives you a less congested courthouse.

The Alberta estate settlement guide includes annotated examples of every GA form, with field-by-field instructions designed to get a clean application through on the first submission — avoiding the requisition cycle that adds weeks to the timeline.

Do You Actually Need a Grant?

Not every estate requires probate. If the deceased's assets consist entirely of:

• Joint bank accounts (which pass by right of survivorship)
• RRSPs, TFSAs, and life insurance with named beneficiaries (which bypass the estate)
• A home held in joint tenancy (which transfers via a Statutory Declaration, not probate)
• Small sole-ownership bank accounts under the financial institution's internal threshold (typically $25,000 to $50,000)

... then you may be able to settle the estate without a court grant. However, even when avoiding probate, the Estate Administration Act still requires you to serve NGA (Notice for Grants Not Applied For) forms to all beneficiaries and family members. Skipping probate does not mean skipping the law.

If the estate includes real property held in sole name or as tenants-in-common, the Land Titles Office will not process the transfer without a sealed grant. Full stop.

For the complete decision framework — when to apply for probate versus when to settle informally — plus the chronological checklist covering every step from the first 48 hours through final distribution, the Alberta estate settlement guide covers it all.

See more Alberta guides →