Yukon

In Yukon the executor applies to the Supreme Court of Yukon for a Grant of Probate, which
confirms that the will is valid and that the executor has authority to administer the estate. Where
there is no will, or no named executor able and willing to act, the court issues Letters of
Administration instead. Non-contentious estate applications run under Rule 64 of the Rules of
Court.

The statutes

The Wills Act decides whether the will is valid. The Estate Administration Act governs the
administration itself — and note the difference it makes: an executor takes direction from the will,
while an administrator is bound by the Act.

What gets filed

• The original will, with an affidavit of execution from a witness.
• Proof of death.
• An inventory of assets and liabilities at their date-of-death values.
• The application, and notice to the beneficiaries and anyone entitled on an intestacy.

Where the Public Guardian and Trustee comes in

If there is no executor able and willing to act, and no competent Yukon relative or creditor applies
for Letters of Administration, the Public Guardian and Trustee may step in as personal
representative. In a small territory where families are often spread across the country, this
happens more than people expect.

Fees

Yukon's probate and court fees are modest by Canadian standards and set by regulation. Take the
current figures from the court rather than from an older 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 what remains. Land held under a land claims or self-government
agreement may not pass under a will in the ordinary way — check the agreement before assuming.

Under Yukon's Wills Act, a will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and signed by
two witnesses present when the testator signs. A holograph will — written entirely in the
testator's own handwriting and signed by them — is valid in Yukon with no witnesses at all.

Valid, and still worth replacing

A holograph will is genuinely useful if you are heading out on the land, flying in weather, or
working a season somewhere remote and have nothing in place. It is not a plan. It cannot name a
trustee for a young beneficiary, it usually forgets the residue, and it produces a handwriting
question if anyone objects. Write one if you need one this week; get a proper will drawn when you
are back.

The witness who inherits

A gift to a witness, or to a witness's spouse, fails while the will itself stands. Use two neutral
witnesses.

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 judged at the time of signing.

Two Yukon-specific points

• Land under a land claims or self-government agreement may be subject to rules in the agreement
  rather than to ordinary succession law. Raise it with the drafter.
• Name an executor who can realistically act here. An executor in another province, dealing with
  a Whitehorse registry, a property up the highway and a bank branch that has closed, will find the
  job slower and more expensive than they expected.

Also

• Name an alternate executor. If nobody is able and willing, the Public Guardian and Trustee may
  end up administering the estate.
• Review after a marriage, separation, divorce, birth or a move.
• Say where the original is kept. A copy will not obtain a grant.

Yes. A Yukon executor may be paid for administering the estate, and given how much travel and
delay a northern estate can involve, it is often well earned.

The standard

There is no fixed percentage set by statute. The executor is entitled to fair and reasonable
compensation, judged on the value of the estate, the time spent, the responsibility assumed, the
skill the job required, the complexity, and the results achieved. Practitioners commonly start from
a percentage of the capital of the estate plus a percentage of the income collected, then test the
total for whether it is actually reasonable. It is a convention, not an entitlement.

How it gets approved

Compensation is either consented to in writing by all the beneficiaries, or approved by the
Supreme Court of Yukon when the executor passes accounts. Agree it in writing before taking it.

Where consent cannot be given

If a beneficiary is a minor or cannot manage their affairs, consent is unavailable and the executor
should expect to pass accounts, with the Public Guardian and 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 intended in place of a fee — read the wording.

A northern note on expenses

Do not let compensation and reimbursement blur together. Flights to Whitehorse, a week off work and
a rental truck are expenses, claimed separately and in full. Compensation is for the executor's
time and responsibility. Executors here frequently under-claim by treating travel as part of the fee.

Tax

Compensation is taxable income; an inheritance is not.

A Yukon executor is reimbursed out of the estate for the reasonable out-of-pocket costs of
administering it, separately from any compensation for their time. In the North the expense side of
the ledger is usually the larger of the two.

Normally claimable

• Funeral, burial or cremation, and a reception in proportion to the estate. Repatriation of
  remains from another community or from outside the territory is a real and claimable cost here.
• 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 it sells: insurance, utilities, fuel, security,
  maintenance, and keeping heat on through winter so the pipes survive.
• Cleaning, clearing, storing, moving and shipping contents south, which is expensive and
  legitimately an estate cost.
• Travel on estate business — flights, vehicle rental, fuel, accommodation and mileage on long
  highway drives. Claim it properly and document it.
• 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 — compensation covers those.
• Costs run up for one beneficiary's convenience rather than the estate's.
• Improvements beyond preparing a property for sale as it stands.
• Anything without a receipt.

The rule that decides it

Open an estate bank account and run everything through it, and keep a dated log of travel and
mileage from the first trip. Northern estates generate unusual-looking expenses; the log is what makes
them look reasonable two years later.

Most Yukon estates are administered by a family member. A lawyer acting as executor, or a trust
company, is worth considering in specific cases — bearing in mind that trust company services are
thinner on the ground here than in the south.

Consider a professional when

• The named executor lives outside the territory. This is the common northern case, and it is the
  one that most often stalls. Distance, a registry in Whitehorse, and property that needs physically
  attending to add up quickly.
• The estate holds an operating business, a lodge or outfitting operation, rental property, or a
  placer or quartz claim that has to be maintained or transferred properly.
• Land or benefits arise under a land claims or self-government agreement, where succession may
  be governed by the agreement rather than ordinary law.
• A beneficiary is a minor or an adult who cannot manage money, so a trust runs for years and the
  Public Guardian and Trustee becomes involved.
• There is conflict among the beneficiaries, or a challenge to the will looks likely.

What it costs

Expect an hourly rate from a local lawyer rather than a percentage, and a percentage with a minimum
fee from a trust company — a minimum that makes many Yukon estates uneconomic. Ask in writing first.

Middle options

• Appoint a family member and let them retain a Yukon lawyer at the estate's expense. This is the
  usual and sensible arrangement.
• Appoint a family member in the south jointly with someone local who can attend in person.
• Name an alternate. If nobody is able and willing to act, the estate may end up with the Public
  Guardian and Trustee, which is nobody's first choice.

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