New Brunswick Estate Planning Checklist
The Documents Every New Brunswick Family Needs
Estate planning in New Brunswick changed fundamentally between 2020 and 2026. The Enduring Powers of Attorney Act (2020) replaced the old approach to substitute decision-making. The Supported Decision-Making and Representation Act (2024) repealed the Infirm Persons Act entirely. And in June 2026, the province restructured its probate tax from a low flat-rate model to a tiered system that charges 1.5% on estate values above $100,000.
If your estate plan predates any of those changes, it needs updating. Here's what a complete New Brunswick estate plan looks like today.
The Core Documents
1. Enduring Power of Attorney for Property
This names someone to manage your finances — bank accounts, investments, tax filings, real estate — if you lose capacity. In New Brunswick, a property EPA must be signed in the physical or virtual presence of a practicing lawyer of the Law Society of New Brunswick, who certifies your capacity. No DIY shortcut exists for this document.
You'll decide whether the EPA takes effect immediately upon signing or "springs" into effect only when a medical professional formally determines you've lost capacity. Immediate EPAs are simpler to use but require absolute trust in your appointed attorney.
2. Enduring Power of Attorney for Personal Care
This names someone to make healthcare, accommodation, diet, and social services decisions if you can't make them yourself. Unlike property EPAs, a personal care EPA can be signed before two independent adult witnesses (both at least 19 years old) instead of a lawyer — though having a lawyer involved for both documents in a single appointment is more efficient.
Personal care EPAs are always springing — they only activate when you lose capacity.
3. Healthcare Directive
Under the 2020 Act, a standalone healthcare directive can no longer appoint a substitute decision-maker. Its role is limited to recording specific treatment instructions: comfort care preferences, life-prolonging measures, organ donation wishes. The proxy appointment function now belongs exclusively to the personal care EPA.
You still want a healthcare directive — it tells your attorney for personal care what you actually want. But it's no longer the document that gives someone authority to act.
4. Will
Your EPAs terminate the moment you die. Everything shifts to your will and the Probate Court. If you die without a will, New Brunswick's intestacy rules under the Devolution of Estates Act dictate how assets are distributed — and the results often surprise families.
5. Beneficiary Designations
RRSPs, TFSAs, life insurance policies, and employer pensions pass by beneficiary designation, not through your will. Review these annually. A divorced-spouse beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy filed twenty years ago can override a will that says otherwise.
The Probate Tax Calculation
Effective June 12, 2026, New Brunswick's probate tax works on a tiered structure:
- Estates up to $20,000: flat $200
- $20,001 to $100,000: $200 plus $5 for every $1,000 (or part thereof) above $20,000
- Over $100,000: $600 plus $15 for every $1,000 (or part thereof) above $100,000
For a $500,000 estate, the probate tax is $6,600. For a $1,000,000 estate, it's $14,100. These numbers make probate avoidance strategies — joint ownership, beneficiary designations, inter vivos trusts — significantly more valuable than they were under the old flat-rate system.
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The Planning Checklist
Personal Information
- [ ] Full legal names and dates of birth for you and your spouse or partner
- [ ] Current address, citizenship, and SIN
- [ ] Marriage certificate, common-law declaration, or divorce decree
- [ ] Contact information for your lawyer, accountant, and financial advisor
Power of Attorney Setup
- [ ] Identify your attorney for property (must be 19+, not bankrupt, not a paid caregiver unless related)
- [ ] Identify your attorney for personal care (same eligibility rules apply)
- [ ] Decide: immediate or springing activation for the property EPA
- [ ] Consider appointing an independent monitor to oversee the property attorney's activities
- [ ] If naming co-attorneys, decide unanimous vs. independent decision-making
- [ ] Book a lawyer appointment for execution (mandatory for property EPAs)
- [ ] Prepare your healthcare treatment instructions for attachment to the personal care EPA
Financial Inventory
- [ ] Bank accounts (chequing, savings, GICs) — institution, account numbers, approximate balances
- [ ] Investment accounts (RRSPs, TFSAs, non-registered) — institution and holdings
- [ ] Real estate — legal description, PID numbers, mortgage balances
- [ ] Vehicles — make, model, year, registration details
- [ ] Life insurance policies — carrier, policy number, face value, beneficiary
- [ ] Employer and government pensions — CPP, OAS entitlements, private pension details
- [ ] Outstanding debts — mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards, personal loans
Probate Tax Planning
- [ ] Calculate your estimated probate exposure using the 2026 tiered structure
- [ ] Review which assets pass outside probate (joint ownership, beneficiary designations)
- [ ] Consider whether holding real property jointly with right of survivorship reduces exposure
- [ ] Evaluate whether an inter vivos trust makes sense for your estate size
Distribution and After-Death Planning
- [ ] Current will that reflects your actual wishes (review if older than five years)
- [ ] Funeral and burial preferences documented
- [ ] Digital accounts inventory (email, social media, cloud storage, subscriptions)
- [ ] Location of all physical documents communicated to your attorney and executor
Common Gaps That Catch Families
Relying on pre-2020 documents. If your EPA was executed under the old framework, it may still be valid — the 2020 Act includes transitional provisions. But financial institutions are increasingly skeptical of older-format documents. Having updated EPAs executed under the current Act eliminates that friction.
Assuming one document covers everything. New Brunswick separates property and personal care authority into distinct documents. A "general power of attorney" that doesn't use the word "enduring" terminates the moment you lose capacity — precisely when you need it most.
Ignoring the small-estate threshold increase. In early 2026, New Brunswick raised the small-estate threshold from $3,000 to $25,000. Estates under the new threshold can be settled through the Public Trustee without formal probate, which saves both the probate tax and the time involved in a court application.
Forgetting about the Land Registry. If your attorney for property needs to sell your home to fund care, the EPA must be registered at the Service New Brunswick Land Registry ($85 per parcel). This step is easy to overlook until the lawyer tries to complete the sale and discovers the EPA isn't on title.
The New Brunswick Power of Attorney Kit walks through each element of this checklist with detailed worksheets, including a probate fee estimator for the 2026 tax structure and a complete financial inventory template that satisfies the record-keeping requirements under Regulation 2020-43.
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Download the New Brunswick — POA Quick-Start Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.