In June 2022, the estate administration process in Alberta changed considerably and these changes should result in lower legal fees for many grant applications. Law firms have access to digital court filing, which has sped up the time the court takes to process a grant application. A digital grant application is often being processed by the court in less than 2 weeks. For non-contentious Estate Administration matters requiring a grant application, the table below compares our firm’s fees vs. the suggested fee guidelines that many firms use to determine fees.

Ryan's Fees as of January 1, 2024Suggested Fee Guidelines other firms may use
Base Fee$990$2250
Gross Value Fee$0$1750
# of Beneficiaries Fee$20$0
Court Filing Fee$400$400
Printing and Other Disbursementsvaries (est. $80)varies
Based on an estate with an Alberta gross and net value of $250,000, the deceased having a valid Will, and there being 2 beneficiaries.

The services provided by our firm for the retainer in the above table are the core legal services up to the time of receipt of the grant from the court. Retainers are also available for the full complement of core legal services including advertising for creditors, the submitting of the estate’s financial statements to the beneficiaries on an informal basis, and the preparation and filing of releases signed by the beneficiaries. Both retainer options will be discussed at the initial meeting with Ryan.

Not all estate administration matters are non-contentious grant applications and not all grant applications can be processed using digital court filing. Your particular circumstances, which are discussed with Ryan at the initial meeting, may require contentious applications. Fees and disbursements for estate administration matters will be discussed with the client prior to incurring these fees and disbursements.

Click here to schedule an initial consultation or meeting with Ryan or you can phone us at 587-351-5297.