The administration of an estate can be complex and is governed by various legislation. The Surrogate Rules, Alta Reg 130/1995 [Surrogate Rules], provides prescribed forms for the estate administration process. Amendments to the Surrogate Rules in 2022 created significant reform in the estate grant application process. These amendments replaced the former non-contentious forms (“NC forms”) with new grant application forms (“GA forms”). It also allowed for a new electronic system for grant applications. Downloadable PDF versions of the GA forms are available online through the Government of Alberta. However, Alberta lawyers are required to use the new Surrogate Digital Service for most grant applications. It is recommended that lawyers consult the Surrogate Digital Service website regularly for the most up-to-date list of accepted applications, as well as various resources including the Lawyer and Legal Assistant User Guide.
The Surrogate Rules also contains prescribed forms for contentious matters (“C forms”), accounting (“ACC forms”), and notice when acting without a grant (“NGA forms”). These forms were not part of the 2022 surrogate reform and are not included in the Surrogate Digital Service or through the Government of Alberta’s surrogate forms downloads.
Lawyers looking for electronic versions of the C forms, ACC forms, and NGA forms can access them through LESA. LESA publishes downloadable and fillable Word versions of the C forms, ACC forms, and NGA forms as part of the Alberta Wills and Estates Practice Manual, available online through a subscription to the Wills and Estates collection on the LESA library.
