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No Will - Time Increases Exponentially to Administer Estate
There can be some very serious, and unwanted, consequences that arise from dying without a valid will, which demands your immediate attention.
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
Failing to take the time to have your own will properly created, means that the people entrusted with managing your estate on your death will be necessitated to expend exponentially more time in the administration of your estate. When an individual passes away without a valid will (intestate), this triggers a time-consuming statutory process that is far more stressful than proceeding under the direction of a clearly articulated last will & testament. The absence of this one legal document tends to compound itself in many different aspects, as the absence of a designated executor means the Court must appoint an administrator via a Grant of Administration to manage the estate’s affairs. Unlike an executor named in a will, who derives their authority from the document itself the moment the testator passes, an administrator has no legal standing until the Court formally intervenes. This creates an immediate and often lengthy authority gap where estate assets may sit in limbo, unprotected and unmanaged. Consequently, the administrator must spend significant time navigating the legal system just to obtain the right to begin the work that a named executor could have started on day one.
The administrative burden is exponentially greater because the administrator must manually reconstruct the decedent’s entire financial life without a roadmap. A valid will typically serves as the primary clue to a person's assets, often accompanied by a list of accounts, digital footprints, and specific intentions. Without this, the administrator must engage in a time-consuming investigative search, contacting various financial institutions, searching for property titles, and identifying creditors through formal notices. This process is further complicated by the lack of clear instructions regarding the distribution of personal effects, which often leads to familial disputes that the administrator must then mediate. A will streamlines this by consolidating information and providing a clear mandate, effectively cutting out months of investigative labor.
In an intestate estate, the administrator is also stripped of the discretionary powers usually granted to an executor in a well-drafted will. Statutory defaults tend to be exceedingly rigid, such that an administrator may be forced to liquidate assets or sell property at inopportune times because they lack the specific testamentary authority to hold or manage investments for the long term. Each significant move may require a separate court application or the unanimous consent of all potential beneficiaries, adding layers of bureaucratic red tape and back-and-forth communication. If a will were present, it could grant the executor the power to make independent decisions regarding the timing of sales or the management of a business. By bypassing the need for constant judicial oversight, a will transforms a complex legal marathon into a more manageable administrative task.
Identifying and locating beneficiaries under the Wills and Succession Act (Alberta) adds another massive temporal hurdle for the administrator. When there is no will, the law dictates a strict hierarchy of distribution based on kinship, which may include descendants or kin who are difficult to find or even unknown to the administrator. The administrator is legally obligated to conduct an exhaustive search to ensure no one is missed, often hiring professional genealogists to satisfy the Court’s requirements. In contrast, a valid will identifies beneficiaries by name, eliminating the need for extensive lineage research and the associated delays. By clearly identifying who is entiled to be a beneficiary and to what extent, a will not only provides the requisite direction to the executor, but also provides legal protections to the distribution process.
Finally, the lack of a will may well necessitate the posting of a bond, with the attainment of this financial guarantee not only being time-consuming, but also adding further administrative friction. In Alberta, if there is no will and there are minor beneficiaries or dependent adults involved, the Court frequently requires the administrator to secure a bond to protect the estate’s value. Obtaining this bond involves a rigorous application process where the administrator’s personal credit and assets are scrutinized, a step that is almost always waived for executors named in a will. This adds weeks, if not months, of additional paperwork and negotiation with surety companies before the estate can even be opened. Ultimately, a valid will acts as a bypass valve for these systemic delays, ensuring that the transition of wealth is a planned procedure rather than an expensive, time-consuming legal crisis [more on potential bond costs].
Avoid putting your loved ones in the difficult situation of attempting to settle and administer your estate without a valid will, by putting in place the necessary estate planning documents when you are alive and capable. Contact our law firm today at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
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.
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