Resealing of PROBATE / AdministratioN
When a person dies with a will, the personal representative appointed in the will of the deceased is required to apply to the court for the Grant of Probate. The process of Grant of Probate involves the acknowledgment and validity of the will by the court and the recognition of the authority of the applicant personal representative to deal with the assets and debts of the estate. If the deceased had no will, the personal representative(s) may apply for the Grant of Administration. In other words, the Grant of Probate or Administration provides a court’s recognition and authority to the financial institutions, such as banks, CRA etc., of the validity of the Will, and the authority of the personal representative to administer the estate assets.
The estate assets include bank accounts, investment properties, and real estate properties of the deceased. There might be a case where the property of the deceased is located in different province(s), other than his last residing province. For example, if the last residing place of the deceased was Toronto, Ontario, and the properties were located in Ontario and Alberta, the personal representative of the estate required to apply for the Grant of Probate/Administration will be in Ontario. However, the Grant of Probate/Administration of a different province (Ontario) would not be a sufficient authority for the personal representative to deal with the property located in Alberta. This would require resealing of the foreign probate/administration in Alberta.
A resealing of Probate/Administration is essential to allow the personal representative to deal with all assets of the estate, regardless of where they are located. The process of resealing requires filing of formal documents under the Surrogate Rules, including an application for resealing, supported with an affidavit of the personal representative, copy of the foreign grant complying with the requirements under the Estate Administration Act, certificate from the foreign court that the grant is not revoked and is in full effect, and proof that the will complies with the requirements under Alberta law if the deceased owned lands in Alberta.
The process for applying for the grant of probate/ administration is not simple, and it gets difficult when a personal representative attempts to do it while dealing with the loss of a loved one. At Osuji & Smith, we provide a stress free experience to our clients while assisting them in obtaining a grant of probate/administration or resealing of a foreign probate/administration.
Author: Nitin Kumar Srivastava
