New Brunswick Probate Guide vs PLEIS-NB: What Free Resources Don't Cover

PLEIS-NB is the best free probate resource in New Brunswick — legally accurate, government-funded, and written for non-lawyers. If you want to understand what the Devolution of Estates Act says about intestate succession, or why probate exists, PLEIS-NB is the right starting point. Where it stops short is the operational layer: it does not tell you how to fill out Form 2A, how to calculate the 2026 probate tax, which judicial district to file in, or what the "Record on Application" formatting requirement means in Moncton. A paid guide built around the current NB court forms fills that gap. For most executors, both resources are useful — but for different parts of the job.

What PLEIS-NB Covers

PLEIS-NB (the Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick, at legalinfonb.ca) publishes free pamphlets on estate administration under New Brunswick law. Their materials are genuinely valuable:

• Plain-English explanations of the Probate Court Act, the Devolution of Estates Act, and the Provision for Dependants Act
• Clear definitions of executor, administrator, probate, and Letters of Administration
• Overview of what assets require probate versus what bypasses the estate
• General description of the executor's duties and timeline
• Information about holograph wills and the validity requirements under the Wills Act

This is foundational legal education and it is accurate. If your goal is understanding the legal framework, PLEIS-NB is worth reading first.

Side-by-Side Comparison

The 2026 Gap in Free Resources

This is the most important limitation of free online resources right now, including PLEIS-NB: the 2026 legislative changes have not yet been fully incorporated into publicly available secondary sources.

Bill 30, An Act Respecting the Probate Court Act and the Public Trustee Act, received Royal Assent on June 12, 2026. It did two things that fundamentally change the picture for most executors:

First, it raised the small estate threshold from $3,000 to $25,000. Under the old rules, almost every estate was forced into the formal Probate Court system. Under the new rules, the Public Trustee can release property valued at $25,000 or less directly to a verified executor without a formal grant — provided adequate proof of entitlement is established. For modest estates, this is a significant bypass route that saves months of court involvement.

Second, it restructured the probate tax brackets. The previous system charged $25 for estates under $5,000 and scaled gradually. The new system imposes a flat $200 base fee on all estates up to $20,000, maintains $5 per $1,000 for the portion between $20,000 and $100,000, and jumps to $15 per $1,000 on everything above $100,000. For a $380,000 estate, the old system would have generated roughly $1,900 in probate taxes. Under the new brackets, the same estate generates approximately $4,600 in tax.

Any free resource that hasn't been updated for these changes will give you the wrong numbers. An executor who calculates their probate tax using the pre-2026 brackets and submits the wrong cheque will have the entire application rejected at the court counter.

What "Plain English" Actually Means in Practice

PLEIS-NB explains that an executor must file a petition with the Probate Court. It does not explain:

• That the petition is Form 2A if there is a will, Form 2E if there is not, and Form 2C if the named executor cannot act
• That Form 2I (Affidavit of Execution of the Will) must not be sworn before the other attesting witness to the will — this specific prohibition under Regulation 84-9 causes frequent rejections for self-represented applicants who simply ask the obvious witness to sign
• That in the judicial districts of Moncton, Bathurst, and Edmundston, the application package must be presented as an unbound "Record on Application" secured with a large clip, with a numbered document index — a formatting requirement that has no equivalent in any other Canadian province and is completely absent from national guides
• That the probate tax cheque must be a certified cheque or money order for the exact amount under the current 2026 brackets, and must accompany the forms at filing — not submitted separately
• That an out-of-province executor is required to post an administration bond (Form 2X) unless they successfully petition the court to waive it using specific multi-beneficiary affidavits

These are the points where self-represented applicants hit walls. PLEIS-NB's value is explaining the law; a procedural guide's value is navigating the administration machinery.

Who Should Start With PLEIS-NB

Use PLEIS-NB's free materials if:

• You want to understand the legal framework before diving into forms
• You need to explain to family members what probate is and why it is required
• You are trying to determine whether the estate is likely to involve a marital property claim, a dependants' provision claim, or intestacy rules
• You are researching whether the estate may qualify for the new $25,000 small estate threshold (PLEIS-NB provides useful context even if it hasn't been updated for the 2026 changes)
• You want authoritative, jargon-translated definitions to cross-reference when reading court documents

Who Should Go Beyond PLEIS-NB

Move beyond PLEIS-NB to a current procedural guide when:

• You are ready to actually file the probate application and need to know exactly what forms to complete and in what order
• You need to calculate the correct probate tax under the 2026 fee schedule before writing a cheque
• You are filing in Moncton, Bathurst, or Edmundston and need the "Record on Application" formatting instructions
• You are an out-of-province executor who needs to understand the administration bond requirement and how to petition for its waiver
• You need the Royal Gazette creditor notice template and submission instructions
• You need a checklist that maps the exact sequence from probate application through CRA Clearance Certificate and final distribution

The Honest Limitation of Both Resources

Neither PLEIS-NB nor a paid probate guide should replace a lawyer when:

• The estate is contested or insolvent
• A surviving spouse is evaluating an election under the Marital Property Act (the four-month deadline is strict; this requires independent legal advice)
• A dependant is considering a claim under the Provision for Dependants Act
• The estate involves real property in multiple jurisdictions
• The estate belongs to a Status Indian ordinarily resident on a reserve (this removes the estate from provincial jurisdiction entirely)

PLEIS-NB's own materials are appropriately cautious about recommending professional advice for complex estates. That caution is warranted and a guide should be equally clear about the same limits.

The Practical Verdict

Start with PLEIS-NB if you haven't already. It is free, accurate, and gives you the conceptual foundation you need before touching the forms. Then, when you are ready to file — when you are standing in front of Form 2A and trying to figure out which affidavits go with it, what the sworn valuation must include, and how much the cheque needs to be — that is when a current procedural guide earns its value in one filing session.

The New Brunswick Probate Process Guide picks up exactly where PLEIS-NB leaves off: after you understand what probate is, and you need to know exactly how to do it in 2026, in the right district, on the right forms, with the right fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is PLEIS-NB legally accurate?

Yes. PLEIS-NB is a government-funded nonprofit that reviews its materials against current New Brunswick statutes. Their explanations of the Probate Court Act, Devolution of Estates Act, and executor duties are reliable. The limitation is currency — the 2026 Bill 30 amendments have not yet been incorporated — and operational depth: PLEIS-NB explains the law but does not provide form-completion guidance, fee calculation worksheets, or district-specific filing instructions.

Why do I need anything beyond free resources for New Brunswick probate?

Free resources cover the law as it exists. The gap is the operational workflow: which forms, in what order, filled out how, submitted where, with what exact payment. The points of failure for self-represented applicants are procedural, not conceptual — a wrong affidavit witness, an outdated fee amount, a missing document index in Moncton. A guide built around the current 2026 forms and rules eliminates those failure points.

Has PLEIS-NB updated its materials for the 2026 Bill 30 changes?

As of mid-2026, the 2026 amendments — including the new $25,000 small estate threshold and the restructured probate tax brackets — are not yet fully reflected in PLEIS-NB's publicly available pamphlets. This is a significant gap for any executor trying to calculate fees or determine whether the estate qualifies for the small estate bypass route under the new threshold.

What does "Record on Application" mean in New Brunswick probate?

It is a district-specific formatting requirement for probate applications filed in the judicial districts of Moncton, Bathurst, and Edmundston. The application package must be presented as an unbound collection of documents — not stapled or bound — secured with a large clip, with a numbered index identifying each document. Applications that do not follow this format are rejected by the court clerk. No national Canadian probate guide covers this requirement because it is unique to New Brunswick's northern and eastern districts.

See more New Brunswick guides →