In this guide, you will find information, resources and links for some of the following subjects:
- Estates
- Estate litigation
- Personal directives
- Powers of attorney
- Probate
- Trusts
- Wills
In Alberta there is no mandatory government registration for wills but you can register with the private Alberta Wills Registry for a fee to help executors find your will if you wish.
Texts
General
Executors & Administrators
Powers of Attorney
Trusts
Wills
- Alberta wills and estates legislation editor Anne De Villars
- Alberta wills and estates practice manual (available online) by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Advance care planning : prepare for serious illness by sharing your wishes for future health and personal care by Connie Jorsvik.
- Digital assets and probate : a practitioner’s guide by James Normington.
- Digital estate by Leigh Sagar & Jack Burroughs.
- Estate litigation, (available online) 2nd by Brian Schnurr.
- Estate planning precedents: a solicitor’s manual (available online) by Lindsay Ann Histrop & Donna C. Cappon.
- Estate planning handbook, (available online) 5th ed. by John Allen & Brian J. Quinlan.
- Estate planning for the blended family by L. Paul Hood Jr. & Emily Bouchard.
- Mediating estate disputes by Susan Easterbrook & Francine Herlehy.
- Miller Thomson on estate planning (available online) by Miller Thomson.
- You can’t take it with you : common-sense estate planning for Canadians, 6th ed. by Sandra Foster.
Last revised September 2026
- Alberta estate administration manual (available online) by David J. Koski.
- Compensation & duties of estate trustees, guardian & attorneys (available online) by Jennifer J. Jenkins, H. Mark Scott & Edward F. Olkovich – Ontario based.
- Estate administration : a solicitor’s reference manual, (available online) by Anne Armstrong.
- Executor’s handbook, 6th ed. by Jennifer Greenan.
- How executors avoid personal liability : a handbook for executors and beneficiaries by Lynn Butler.
- So you’ve been appointed executor, 4th ed. by Tom Carter.
- Widdifield on executors and trustees, (available online) 6th ed. by Carmen Theriault.
- Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks on executors, administrators and probate, 22nd ed. by Edward Williams, Herbert Mortimer & J.H.G. Sunnucks.
Last revised September 2026
- Drafting personal directives and enduring powers of attorney by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Power of attorney litigation, 2nd ed. by Ian M. Hull & Suzana Popovic-Montag.
- Powers of attorney and capacity practice and procedure by Jasmine Sweatman.
- Enduring powers of attorney and personal directives by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Preparation of wills and powers of attorney : first interview to final report, 5th ed. original text by Mary l. MacGregor updated text by Lucinda E. Main.
Last revised September 2026
- Constructive trust claims by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Drafting trusts & will trusts in Canada, 5th ed. (available online) by James Kessler & Fiona Hunter – includes CD
- Drafting your first trust by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Law of trusts, (available online) 3rd ed. by Eileen Gillese.
- Lewin on trusts, 20th ed. by Lynton Tucker, Nicholas Le Poidevin & James Brightwall.
- Oosterhoff on trusts, 10th ed. by Albert H. Oosterhoff, Robert Chambers & Mitchell McInnes.
- Snell’s equity, 35th ed. by John McGee.
- Taxation of trusts and estates : a practitioner’s guide by Grace Chow.
- Trusts in common-law Canada, 4th ed. (available online) by Dennis Pavlich.
- Waters’ law of trusts in Canada, 5th ed. (available online) by Donovan Waters.
Last revised September 2026
- Capacity and undue influence, 2nd ed. by John Poyser.
- Challenging the validity of wills, 2nd ed. by Ian Hull & Suzana Popovic-Montag.
- Drafting considerations for wills & estates practitioners by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Drafting wills in Canada : a lawyer’s practical guide, 3rd ed. by Robin Solnik, Bruce Gillingham & Caroline G.S. Kiva.
- Drafting your first will by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Feeney’s Canadian law of wills, 4th ed. by James MacKenzie.
- Mistakes in wills in Canada by Stanley Sokol.
- Oosterhoff on wills, 9th ed. by A.H. Oosterhoff, Robert Chambers & Mitchell McInnes.
- Preparation of wills and powers of attorney : first interview to final report, 5th ed. original text by Mary l. MacGregor updated text by Lucinda E. Main.
- Williams on wills, 11th ed. by C.H. Sherrin.
- Wills and estates, revised 5th ed. by Derek Fazakas.
Last revised September 2026
Forms and Precedents
Texts
Online
- Alberta wills and estates practice manual (available online) by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Canadian estate administration guide – v. 2 for Alberta specific forms
- Canadian forms & precedents : wills & estates, (available online) 2nd ed. by Margaret Rintoul.
- Drafting personal directives and enduring powers of attorney by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Drafting trusts & will trusts in Canada, 5th ed.by James Kessler & Fiona Hunter.
- Drafting wills in Canada : a lawyer’s practical guide, 3rd ed. by Robyn Solnik, Brian Gillingham & Caroline G.S. Kiva.
- Drafting your first will by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Elder law topics by Legal Education Society of Alberta.
- Estate planning precedents : a solicitor’s manual by Lindsay Histrop.
- Last will & testament and living will. Self counsel Press
- O’Brien’s encyclopedia of forms, 11th ed. by John Honsberger Div. 5 wills & trusts
- Power of attorney kit, 11th ed. by Peter J. Georgas.
- Preparation of wills and powers of attorney : first interview to final report, 5th ed. original text by Mary l. MacGregor updated text by Lucinda E. Main.
- Tax planned will precedents, (available online) 4th ed. by Alison Scott Butle.
- Write your legal will in 3 easy steps, 4th ed.by Tom Carter.
Last revised September 2026
- Office of the Public Guardian & Trustee (OPGT) – Forms and information
- Personal Directive Template (Palliative Institute)
- Personal directive – Alberta government (information and forms)
- Surrogate Forms – non-contentious matters
- Surrogate Forms – contentious matters
- To find contentious matter forms, use the following link: https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/form/C01.pdf. To open a different form replace the bolded form number at the end of the URL using the following format:
- Add a leading zero to single-digit numbers: C2 becomes C02
- Replace decimal points with p: C2.1 becomes C02p1
- Apply the same format to forms with prefixes: ACC2 because ACC02
- To find a list of contentious forms, see schedule 3 of Surrogate Rules, Alta Reg 130/1995
- For further information, see the user’s guide available in print at Alberta Law Libraries: Surrogate Rules and Forms Package.
- To find contentious matter forms, use the following link: https://kings-printer.alberta.ca/form/C01.pdf. To open a different form replace the bolded form number at the end of the URL using the following format:
Last revised July 2026
Case Law
For more information on finding cases see our research guide: Finding and Researching Cases
E-Resources
Legislation
Uniform Acts
- Wills – Uniform Law Conference of Canada
Provincial
- Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act, SA 2008 c. A-4.2
- Dower Act, RSA 2000, c D-15
- Estate Administration Act, SA 2014 c E12.5
- Personal Directives Act, RSA 2000, c P-6
- Human Tissue and Organ Donation Act, SA 2006, c H-14.5
- Public Trustee Act, SA 2004, c P-44.1
- Powers of Attorney Act, RSA 2000, P-20
- Trustee Act, SA 2022 c T-8.1
- Unclaimed Personal Property and Vested Property Act, SA 2007, c U-1.5
- Wills and Succession Act, SA 2010, c W-12.2
To access or purchase the official version, go to: Alberta King’s Printer
Last revised Apr. 9, 2026
Websites of interest
Alberta
Other
- Advance planning
- Alberta wills registry
- Beneficiaries : when someone dies without a will in Alberta – CPLEA
- Deceased persons’ estates
- Enduring power of attorney
- Finding a Will – made in Alberta
- Lost wills inquiry request – Law society of Alberta
- Office of the Public Guardian & Trustee (OPGT)– Forms and information
- Palliative Institute – Information and tools you need to make informed choices about your care and work to arm caregivers with knowledge, expertise and resources.
- Advance Care Planning and Personal Directives: Recommendations for Legal Practice in Alberta – a best practice guide for legal professionals
- Register a death
- So you want to make a will by Lesley Conley – Law Now
- Understanding Personal Directives– 2023
- Wills in Alberta
- Wills – Law Central
Last revised July 2026
- Canada will registry
- Planning for future care resource booklets – Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta; Topics include making a will, personal directives, power of attorney, medical assisted dying etc.
- History and Description of the Public Trustee – be aware of the date of the article.
- Older Adults Knowledge Network (Oaknet) – Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta
- What to do Following a Death – Canada Revenue Agency
- Wills, Personal Directives, Powers of Attorney 2023 (SLS)
- Wills & Estates – video presented by Edmonton Community Legal Centre
Last revised Apr. 9, 2026
Encyclopedias
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada
Canadian encyclopedic digest (C.E.D.) (Western), 4th ed. (available online)
Sections relevant to wills and estate law include:
- Executors and Administrators
- Medical Incapacity (Western)
- Trusts
- Wills
Halsbury’s Laws of Canada (available online)
This multi-volume set includes coverage of Federal, Provincial & Territorial legislation. It explains the legislation and cases which govern wills and estate law issues in every jurisdiction in Canada.
Titles related to wills and estate law include:
Additional information may be found under other topical headings.
Journals
Estates, trusts & pensions journal (Est Tr & Pensions J) (available online)
Indexes
- Index to Canadian legal literature (ICLL) (available online)
- Current index to legal periodicals (CILP) (available online)
Additional full-text articles are available electronically through:
- Canlii – commentary – contains books, articles and reports.
- HeinOnline – provides full-text access to Canadian and international law reviews and legal journals.
- Lexis+™ Canada
- vLex Justis
- Westlaw Edge Canada – contains a collection of Canadian journals and law reviews, as well as all articles and case comments appearing in Carswell law reports.
For more information on looking for journal articles see our research guide Finding journal articles, conference materials & theses
Disclaimer: As law librarians, we are pleased to provide you this resource for information and research purposes only – It is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We strive to bring you quality and current information in this resource, but we make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, accessibility, adequacy, or completeness of the information presented here. The sources featured are selected based on professional assessment and opinion, and do not constitute an endorsement, editorial, review, or guarantee.