Getting Probate Faster Using Limited Grants Of Probate
Limited Grants of Probate in Alberta
The term probate has little meaning for people until they manage the estate of a loved one. The process takes time, money and energy. Unfortunately, those needing to deal with probate, do so at a time when they face the emotional challenges of losing someone they cared about. Some assets frequently cause more stress and work to deal with through the estate administration process. Limited Grants of Probate help ensure this process moves quickly to allow you to move forward with the estate more quickly and easily. Learn more below or call the probate lawyers at Kahane Law Office. With offices in Calgary and Edmonton, we help you at at time when emotions and stress make things harder. To best assist you, we offer free consultations regarding probate, Limited Grants of Probate and determining if you require this process at all.
What Is Probating An Estate?
Probating an estate means making an application to the Surrogate Court in Alberta. The application asks the court to order definitively which is the last will of a person, who is in charge of an estate and who gets what from the estate. We refer to this court order as a Grant Of Probate. Until the court issues this order, no person has the legal right to make decisions for the estate. In basic, simple estates, the process to receive a Grant Of Probate takes three to four months. A probate lawyer often helps ensure that this process moves smoother and quicker than when people attempt this process themselves.
What Are Limited Grants Of Probate?
With some assets, selling the asset quickly is in the best interest of the estate. Limited Grants of Probate allow for a faster process to sell these assets. For example, a house requires monthly expenses, proper ongoing attention, repairs, maintenance, etc. It is easier for an executor to sell a home right away and not wait months for the grant of probate. In situations where the sale of the estate’s real property already occurred, a limited grant application helps! In these situations, on completion of the sale, the sale proceeds sit in the estates bank account and wait for the final probate order.
With the Limited Grants of Probate, the court orders that a specific person is in charge of the estate to sell specific items, as needed. This gives a legal right to a person to make those decisions. In addition, it protects the person managing the estate from personal liability. The term “Limited: refers to the fact that the order is limited to specific assets. These applications often allow people to legally sell or manage estate assets in weeks.
Important To Note: Since the use of Limited Grants, the risky practice of trying to avoid probate is less useful. Learn about the risks of attempting to avoid probate.
Types Of Assets Using Limited Grants Of Probate
Many assets benefit from using a Limited Grants of Probate. Anything that deals with time sensitive assets, assets that rapidly depreciate or require a lot of work or money to maintain and more. Essentially, the order is used for the preservation or property or converting property into another form (for example, money) which is more easily managed. A person’s personal residence is the asset that most frequently benefits from Limited Grants of Probate. This allows people to sell a home quickly. However, while mostly used for probating real estate, there are more assets that benefit from this type of probate application. For example, assets that a quick probate order assists with include:
- Principal residences;
- Rental properties;
- Land;
- Ongoing litigation related issues;
- Companies;
- Stock or share portfolios in a volatile market;
- Commodity sensitive assets; and lastly
- Assets that devalue in unattended.
Limited Grant Of Probate Process
The process for Limited Grants of Probate closely resembles the actual probate process. The Government of Alberta sets out the forms and steps needed for these applications in the Surrogate Rules. Due to the technical nature of the process, many people opt to have a lawyer complete the process for them. After submitting this application, the lawyer then continues with the final order. Please note that no specific time frame exists for this process to start. Our lawyers help when you need it. Many people call us before a funeral happens.
While prepared to help right away, we encourage clients to focus on family and grieving first. Of course, people must prioritize attending to and protecting the estate’s assets. However, family should come first. Unless extreme time sensitivity exists, a few days or weeks often cause no problematic issues for the estate. If worried, please call for direction. This inquiry call to us is free of charge.
Do All Estates Need Probate?
While technically yes, in reality not all estates require probate. Estates with nominal assets usually do not. We meet with you at no charge to determine if the estate you seek to manage actually requires probating. Certain assets in an estate always require probating. These include homes, land, bank accounts with large balances, some corporate assets, some stock or investment accounts,etc. However, the exception to this rule involves situations where these assets ownership is held jointly. Risks exist to avoiding probate this way (learn more about the risk of joint tenancy here), so we recommend legal advice and using caution if contemplating this step.
Cost Of Lawyers For The Application
Once you retain a lawyer for probate, most of the work for the Limited Grant of Probate is included in that cost. The additional work to allow for a fast ability to legally sell a home or deal with other assets is under $500. Once we complete the limited grant the rest of the probate follows suit. Often, the savings in maintaining the assets, paying a mortgage, utilities and insurance, more than offset this cost.
Hiring Lawyers To Start A Limited Grant Of Probate
We respect that the loss of a loved one is hard on everyone. Ideally, we help relieve you of some of the legal and logistical parts of managing that loved one’s estate. We let you know if you need probate, at no cost. In addition, we advise you if using a Limited Grants of Probate best benefits the estate or not. Finally, we manage the application process for you. Get the help you need today. Let us send you information and start helping right away by emailing us directly.We also enjoy taking your calls. In the Calgary area, please call us at 403-225-8810. If you live in the Edmonton area please reach us directly at (780) 571-8463. Lastly, if you want more information you can watch and learn from, click here to watch our video on probate and probate lawyers.