No, I will give the originals of your Will, Personal Directive and Enduring Power of Attorney to you. I keep an electronic copy on file at a secure encrypted Canada based cloud storage.

Many Wills are never completed after the client receives the questionnaire to complete on their own. This $50 consultation fee, which is taken off the cost of your final document (so its not an extra charge) is to nudge you to complete the process and help you meet your end goal of a completed will.

Anyone over 18 years old who is not

1. Your spouse/partner

2. Your executor or beneficiary

3. The spouse or partner or your executor or beneficiaries

It is the only way to have a say in how your property is distributed after your passing. It also gives your loved ones assurance that things are being distributed how you would have wanted it, by the trusted personal representative you selected which can lessens arguments, litigation and costs.

You are not able to avoid probate fees with your will, but probate fees in Alberta are relatively low and the estate planning that is associated with making a will can ensure that your assets that can pass easily outside the Will can avoid probates fees and delay and pass easily to the specified people you designate.

Judicature Act Surrogate Rules Part 5 Schedule 2
Where the net value of property in Alberta subject to probate is
$10,000 or less $35
over $10,000 up to $25,000 $135
over $25,000 up to $125,000 $275
over $125,000 up to $250,000 $400
over $250,000 $525
The above information is current as of January 22, 2024.

If you become mentally incompetent due to illness or accident, you need to know your family can access your accounts and manage your finances easily. With an Enduring Power of Attorney, you can appoint your choice of a person to run your affairs if you become unable to do so. This way you get a say in who is chosen to do this and you can pick someone you trust.

Without an Enduring Power of Attorney, if you become mentally incapicitated, your friend or family members will have to apply to the court for an order of trusteeship. This is a costly and time-consuming procedure.

It is the only way to appoint a person to make personal care and medical decisions, such as whether to have specific medical treatments, on your behalf if you lose the necessary mental capacity to understand the nature of those decisions or the physical capacity to make those decisions.

Without a Personal Directive, should you become incapacitated, your family or friends will have to apply to the court to have someone appointed as your Guardian, which is costly, lengthy and you have no say in who is appointed.

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