Northwest Territories

In the Northwest Territories the executor applies to the Supreme Court of the Northwest
Territories for a grant of probate, which confirms the will is valid and the executor may act.
Where there is no will, or the named executor will not act, the court grants letters of
administration. Applications run under the territory's Probate, Administration and Guardianship
Rules.

When the grant is actually needed

A grant is generally required where the deceased owned real property that was not held jointly,
and where financial institutions insist on it. Where the estate is small and everything was held
jointly or had a named beneficiary, a grant may not be needed. Ask before assuming — an unnecessary
application costs the estate time it does not need to spend.

The statutes

The Wills Act determines whether the will is valid and who inherits. Estate administration is
governed by the territorial administration legislation and the court's rules.

What gets filed

• The original will, with an affidavit of execution.
• Proof of death.
• An inventory of assets and liabilities at date-of-death values.
• The application forms, and notice to those entitled.

Fees

Probate and court fees in the NWT are modest by Canadian standards and set by regulation. Take
current figures from the court rather than from a guide.

Before distributing

Property held jointly with right of survivorship, and registered plans or insurance with a named
living beneficiary, pass outside the estate. Obtain the Canada Revenue Agency clearance
certificate before distributing. Where the deceased held rights under a land claims or
self-government agreement, or was ordinarily resident on a reserve, succession may be governed by
that agreement or by federal law rather than by territorial law — check before proceeding.

Under the NWT Wills Act, a will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and signed by
two witnesses who are present when the testator signs. A holograph will — written wholly in the
testator's own handwriting and signed by them — is valid in the Northwest Territories, even
though the Act's witness requirements are not met.

Valid here, and not everywhere else

The territorial government's own guidance makes the point plainly: holograph wills are recognised in
the NWT but are not recognised in many other places, and should be avoided where you have the
option. That matters more than usual here, because people move. A handwritten will made in Yellowknife
may not be accepted where the will-maker later dies, or where their property sits.

The witness who inherits

A gift to a witness, or to a witness's spouse, fails while the will itself survives. Use two neutral
witnesses with nothing to gain.

Age and capacity

The general rule is the age of majority, with narrow exceptions for those who are married or on
active service. Capacity is assessed at the moment of signing.

Points specific to the NWT

• Land claims and self-government agreements may govern how certain land and benefits pass. Raise
  it with whoever drafts the will.
• Choose an executor who can realistically act. Distances here are long, communities are often
  fly-in, and an executor in another province will find every step slower.
• Say where the original is kept, and tell someone. Wills that cannot be found are a recurring
  problem in small communities.

Also

• Name an alternate executor.
• Review after a marriage, separation, divorce, birth or a move out of the territory.

Yes. An executor in the Northwest Territories may be paid for administering the estate.

The standard

No statutory percentage applies. The executor is entitled to fair and reasonable compensation,
measured against the value of the estate, the time spent, the responsibility assumed, the skill
required, the complexity of the administration and the results achieved. The usual practice is to
start from a percentage of capital plus a percentage of income collected, then check the total
against what the job actually involved.

How it gets approved

Either all the beneficiaries consent in writing, or the Supreme Court approves the amount when
the executor passes accounts. Agree it in writing before taking anything.

Where consent cannot be given

If a beneficiary is a minor or cannot manage their own affairs, consent is unavailable and the
executor should expect to pass accounts, with the Public Trustee entitled to be heard.

If the will fixes a figure

The will governs, provided the executor accepts the appointment on those terms. A legacy to the
executor may be meant instead of a fee — read the clause carefully.

Keep compensation and expenses separate

This matters more in the North than almost anywhere. Charter flights to a fly-in community, a week
of accommodation in Yellowknife and freight on a container are expenses, reimbursed in full and
separately. Compensation is payment for the executor's time and responsibility. Executors here
routinely undercharge by folding real travel costs into a single percentage.

Tax

Compensation is taxable income to the executor; an inheritance is not. Where the executor is also
a beneficiary, taking a larger share rather than a fee is often better after tax.

An executor in the Northwest Territories is reimbursed out of the estate for the reasonable
out-of-pocket costs of administering it, separately from compensation for their time. In this
territory the expenses are frequently the bigger number, and they are legitimate.

Normally claimable

• Funeral, burial or cremation, and a reception in proportion to the estate. Repatriation of
  remains between communities or from outside the territory is a genuine and claimable cost.
• Court and probate fees, and certified death certificates.
• Legal fees for the application, and accounting fees for the final T1 and any T3 trust return.
• Land titles searches, transfers and registrations.
• Appraisals of real property, cabins, vehicles, snowmachines, boats, equipment and collections.
• Carrying costs on estate property until sale: insurance, utilities, heating fuel through the
  winter, security and maintenance. A house left to freeze is a loss to the estate.
• Cleaning, clearing, storing, moving and freighting contents south, including barge or air
  freight where that is the only option.
• Travel on estate business — scheduled flights, charters where there is no other way in, vehicle
  rental, fuel, accommodation and mileage.
• Postage, couriers, bank charges, and bond premiums where a bond is required.

Normally not claimable

• The executor's lost wages, meals near home, or personal costs — that is what compensation is for.
• Costs incurred for one beneficiary's convenience rather than the estate's.
• Improvements beyond preparing a property for sale as it stands.
• Anything undocumented.

The rule that decides it

Open an estate bank account and run everything through it. Keep a dated log of every trip, with
the reason for it. Northern expenses look extraordinary to anyone reading them from the south; the
log is what shows they were necessary.

Most NWT estates are administered by a family member. Professional executors are less available here
than in the provinces — there is no branch of every trust company in Yellowknife — so the realistic
question is usually not "trust company or family member" but "how much professional help does the
family executor need".

Consider a professional when

• The named executor lives outside the territory, which is common. Distance, fly-in communities
  and a registry in Yellowknife make remote administration genuinely hard.
• Rights or land arise under a land claims or self-government agreement, where succession may be
  governed by the agreement rather than by territorial law.
• The deceased was ordinarily resident on a reserve, in which case the estate may fall under
  federal administration rather than the territorial court at all.
• The estate holds an operating business, a lodge or outfitting operation, or mineral interests.
• A beneficiary is a minor or an adult who cannot manage money, bringing in the Public Trustee.
• There is conflict among the beneficiaries, or a will challenge looks likely.

What it costs

Expect hourly billing from a territorial lawyer rather than a percentage. Where a trust company will
act at all, expect a percentage with a minimum fee that makes most NWT estates uneconomic. Get it in
writing.

Middle options

• Appoint a family member and let them retain an NWT lawyer at the estate's expense. This is the
  standard arrangement and the one that usually works.
• Pair a family member in the south with someone local who can attend in person.
• Name an alternate, so the estate does not default to the Public Trustee.

An executor who does not want the job can renounce, but only before intermeddling in the estate.