Wills, Estates and Trusts

General

Alberta wills & estates legislation by Anne De Villars Table of Contents
Alberta wills and estates practice manual by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Estate Litigation, 2nd by Brian Schnurr Table of Contents
Estate Planner’s Handbook, 5th ed. by Robert Spenceley Table of Contents
Estate Planning for the Blended Family by L. Paul Hood Jr. & Emily Bouchard Table of Contents
Legal Research Guide to Wills & Succession by Eric Appleby Table of Contents
Mediating Estate Disputes by Susan Easterbrook & Francine Herlehy Table of Contents
New Estate Administration Act by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Wills Fundamentals by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
You Can’t Take it With You : Common-Sense Estate Planning for Canadians, 5th ed. by Sandra Foster Table of Contents

Forms and Precedents

Alberta law conference 2013 [unpublished papers] by Canadian Bar Association Table of Contents (Contains filled out sample probate precedents)
Alberta probate kit by Lynne Butler Table of Contents
Alberta surrogate forms by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents (Includes CD of fillable forms)
Alberta wills and estates practice manual by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Canadian Forms & Precedents : Wills & Estates, 2nd ed. by Margaret Rintoul Table of Contents (Also available through Quicklaw)
Drafting personal directives and enduring powers of attorney by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Drafting trusts & will trusts in Canada, 4th ed.by James Kessler & Fiona Hunter Table of Contents
Drafting wills in Canada : a lawyer’s practical guide, 2nd ed.by Robyn Solnik & Mary-Alice Thompson Table of Contents
Drafting your First Will by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Estate planning precedents: a solicitor’s manual by Lindsay Histrop Table of Contents
Living Wills Kit, 2nd ed. by Tom Carter Table of Contents
O’Brien’s encyclopedia of forms, 11th ed. by John Honsberger Div. 5 Wills & Trusts
Power of Attorney Kit, 10th ed. by Stephen Georgas Table of Contents
Preparation of wills and powers of attorney : first interview to final report, 4th ed.by Mary MacGregor Table of Contents
Tax Planned Will Precedents, 4th ed. by Alison Scott Butler Table of Contents
Write your Legal Will in 3 Easy Steps, 3rd ed.by Tom Carter Table of Contents

Executors & Administrators

Executor’s handbook, 5th ed. by Jennifer Greenan Table of Contents
How Executors Avoid Personal Liability: a handbook for executors and beneficiaries by Lynn Butler Table of Contents
So you’ve been appointed executor, 3rd ed. by Tom Carter Table of Contents
Widdifield on executors and trustees, 6th ed. by Carmen Theriault Table of Contents
Williams, Mortimer and Sunnucks on executors, administrators and probate, 21st ed. by Edward Williams, Herbert Mortimer, and J.H.G. Sunnucks Table of Contents

Powers of Attorney

Drafting personal directives and enduring powers of attorney by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Powers of attorney and capacity practice and procedure by Jasmine Sweatman Table of Contents
Enduring powers of attorney and personal directives by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Preparation of wills and powers of attorney : first interview to final report, 4th ed. by Mary MacGregor Table of Contents – includes CD

Trusts

Constructive trust claims by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Drafting trusts & will trusts in Canada, 4th ed. by James Kessler & Fiona Hunter Table of Contents – includes CD
Drafting your first trust by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Law of trusts, 3rd ed. by Eileen Gillese Table of Contents – Also available as an e-text
Lewin on Trusts, 19th ed. by Lynton Tucker, Nicholas Le Poidevin, James Brightwall Table of Contents
Oosterhoff on trusts : text, commentary and materials, 8th ed. by A.H. Oosterhoff Table of Contents
Snell’s Equity, 33rd ed. by John McGee Table of Contents
Trusts in Common-law Canada, 2nd ed. by Dennis Pavlich Table of Contents
Waters’ law of trusts in Canada, 4th ed. by Donovan Waters Table of Contents

Wills

48th annual refresher course, wills & estates : Lake Louise, Alberta by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Challenging the validity of wills by Ian Hull Table of Contents
Drafting wills in Canada : a lawyer’s practical guide, 2nd ed. by Robin Solnik Table of Contents
Drafting your First Will by Legal Education Society of Alberta Table of Contents
Feeney’s Canadian Law of Wills, 4th ed. by James MacKenzie Table of Contents
Mistakes in wills in Canada by Stanley Sokol Table of Contents
Oosterhoff on wills, 8th ed. by A.H. Oosterhoff Table of Contents
Preparation of wills and powers of attorney : first interview to final report, 4th ed. by Mary MacGregor Table of Contents – includes CD
Williams on wills, 10th ed. by C.H. Sherrin Table of Contents
Wills and Estates, 4th ed. by Derek Fazakas Table of Contents

Print

Estates and trusts reports (ETR)

For more information on finding cases see our research guide: Finding & Researching Cases

Provincial

The links above connect to the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) version for convenience and ease of use. To access or purchase the official version, go to: Alberta Queen’s Printer

Uniform Acts

Wills – Uniform Law Conference of Canada

Glossary of Common Terms

Attestation : Witnessing a written instrument and signing it as a witness. 1

Beneficiary : A person entitled to receive a benefit under a trust or a will. 2

Codicil : A written document that makes a change or an addition to the will. It is executed by the testator, in accordance with the same formalities as a will. 2

Executor/Executrix : A person appointed in a will to administer the estate of the testator or testatrix. 2

Holograph Will : A will written completely in the handwriting of the person making it, having no witnesses to the signature of the testator.3

Intervivos Trust : A trust other than a testamentary trust. Created by writing a deed or oral declaration, a trust which is to take effect during the lifetime of the trust’s creator. 1

Intestate : The act of dying without a valid will. 2

Living Will : also referred to as personal directive. An instrument, signed with the formalities statutorily required for a will, by which a person directs that his or her life not be artificially prolonged by extraordinary measures when there is no reasonable expectation of recovery from extreme physical or mental disability. 4

Personal Directive : according to the Personal Directives Act (RSA 2000, c P-6, s 7) “A personal directive may contain information and instructions respecting any personal matter” – while some examples are set out in the Act, the list is not exhaustive. There are certain requirements that must be met in order to qualify as a personal directive such as being in writing, being dated, signed and witnessed in accordance with the statute.

Personal Representative : The individual, either appointed in a will or appointed by the court, to administer and deal with the assets of an estate. 3

Probate – The process of “proving” a will. 3 The term has become a term of procedure describing the outcome of the court process wherein Letters Probate are granted verifying that a will has been proven. In Alberta currently, the Rules of Court provide that an application for a grant of probate may be made (Surrogate Rule 10(1) (a)(i)) and the term Letters Probate is not used. 5

Surrogate Court : The court responsible for the appointment of personal representatives and generally involved with problems arising during the administration of estates. In Alberta it is a division of the Queen’s Bench. 3

Testamentary Trust: A trust that arises upon and in consequence of the death of an individual. 1

Testate: The act of dying with a will. 2

Testator : The name given to a man who makes a will. 2

Testatrix : The name given to a woman who makes a will. 2

Daphne Dukelow, The Dictionary of Canadian Law 4th ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 2011)
Jennifer Greenan, The Executor’s Handbook 5th ed. (Toronto: CCH Canadian Limited, 2015)
Cheryl Gotslieb, Wills for Alberta (North Vancouver : Self-Counsel Press, 1998)
Black’s Law Dictionary 9th ed. (St. Paul, Minnisota : West, 2009)
Alberta Rules of Court, Surrogate Rules, Alberta Regulation 130/95 as amended, Court of Queen’s Bench Act

Print

Estates, trusts & pensions journal (Est Tr & Pensions J)
Formally Estates and trusts journal and Estates and trusts quarterly

Alberta

Alberta Courts -Frequently asked questions about wills and estates
Alberta Human Services – Forms – Guardianship, trusteeship and personal directives
Alberta Human Services – Office of the public guardian & trustee (OPGT)
Alberta Justice and Solicitor General – Wills
Dial-A-Law 1-800-332-1091
Older Adults Knowledge Network (Oaknet)
Service Alberta – Death and vital statistics information

Federal

Canadian Bar Association – National Wills Estates and Trusts Section
Canada Revenue Agency – Forms for executors and administrators

Texts

General

Forms and Precedents

Executors & Administrators

Powers of Attorney

Trusts

Wills

Case Law

Legislation

Provincial

Uniform Acts

Definitions

Journals

Print

Related Journal Articles

Websites

Alberta

Federal

Online Documents