Administration - Notice to Creditors and Claimants
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
A Notice to Creditors and Claimants in Alberta is a formal public advertisement placed by the Administrator (the person that intends to be administering the estate) of a deceased person, who died without a will (intestate), which is published in a local Alberta newspaper based on specified criteria and subsequently submitted as part of the Administration process on Form GA15.
The notice serves to inform persons or institutions who believes the deceased person owed them money (a creditor) or has a legal claim against the estate (a claimant) to formally submit their claim by a specified deadline. The deadline is generally at least 30 days from the date of the last publication. If the estate's gross value is over $100,000, the notice must be published at least twice, with a minimum of five days between publications.
By undertaking a Notice to Creditors and Claimants, the Administrator is providing themself with personal protection against creditors and claimants of the estate, by taking advantage of what might be deemed an antiquated mode of information dissemination, even though most prospective creditors and claimants are unlikely to be notified given continuing dilution of newspapers as a mode of notification. Nonetheless, it serves the Administrator, as it fulfills the stated requirements of notification, including:
-
Sets a Deadline for Claims: It establishes a clear deadline for claims. After this period expires, the Personal Representative is generally protected from personal liability if they distribute the estate assets to the beneficiaries (as determined by the Wills and Succession Act (Alberta) for intestate estates) and a previously unknown creditor later appears.
-
Facilitates Debt Settlement: It ensures the Administrator can identify and pay all outstanding debts and legal claims that take notice of the publication and come forward, before distributing the remaining assets. Paying debts is a legal duty and takes priority over distributing inheritances, such that undertaking this antiquated notification process from the Alberta Surrogate Rules is to the Administrator's advantage.
-
Reduces Personal Risk: If the Administrator distributes the estate without advertising for creditors and a major debt surfaces later, the Administrator could potentially be held personally responsible for paying that debt if the estate funds have already been given to the beneficiaries. The notice helps avoid this significant personal risk.
Even though this notification process is not viewed as legally mandatory by many commentators, given that methodology established by the Alberta Surrogate Rules has become highly antiquated and of decreasing efficiency, publishing the Notice to Creditors and Claimants is considered a best practice and beneficial for an Administrator looking to protect themself from personal liability and to ensure the estate is settled properly.
Administration can be a relatively straightforward, procedural process, especially when undertaken with a lawyer that has the benefit of the Surrogate Digital Service to effectuate digital filing and processing of the legal paperwork with the Surrogate Division of the Court. However, where the matter is contentious and there are disagreements as between prospective appointees and/or beneficiaries, the proceeding can be quite tedious, time-consuming and expensive, with the relevant statutes and court precedent be the foundation for dictating the outcome, with the lawyers being pivotal to the process [more on advantages].
Contact our law firm today to learn how our legal team can help you with the legal demands following the death of a loved one, from probating the decedent's last will & testament to administering an estate where the decedent did not have a valid will. Contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
Please Note: This information provides a general overview. Specific circumstances may require additional steps or variations in the process.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
Contact Info - Mobile Services - Hospital Visits - Legal Notices - Privacy - Terms of Use - Main Will Webpage