How to Apply for Probate (YT)

Application Types

While the term "probate" is commonly used to refer to the court-supervised process of estate settlement (whether or not there is a will), technically speaking, "probate" refers to the submission of a will to the court for review, after which an estate goes through "administration". If there is no will, the estate just goes straight to "administration".

Consequently, in your initial application to the court, most provinces require you to explicitly specify one of the following application types:

• Administration (if the decedent died without a will)
• Administration with Will Annexed (if there is a will, but it does not name you as executor)
• Probate (if there is a will and it names you as executor... in this case, the term "probate" is shorthand for probating the will and then administering/settling the estate)

Some provinces have separate forms for each of these types of applications, while others use simple checkboxes within a common application form (and some don't provide forms at all, leaving it up to you).

YT Application Process

There are several steps you must take to obtain the court's permission to represent and manage a YT estate.

1. Probate Application: In the Yukon, start by submitting an application to the court: see application details ↧
   • Submit a Requisition for Letters of Administration (Form 4A). Select Probate if there is a will and you are named executor, Administration with Will Annexed if there is a will but it does not name you as executor, Administration without Will Annexed if there is no will.
   • According to your selection above, attach an Affidavit of Executor (Form 72), an Affidavit of Administrator with Will Annexed (Form 75), or an Affidavit of Administrator (Form 74).
   • According to your selection, attach a Draft Grant of Probate (Form 115), a Draft Letters of Administration with Will Annexed (Form 116B), or a Draft Letters of Administration (Form 116).
   • If you will be representing yourself (i.e., you have no lawyer), attach a Notice of Self-Representation (Form 14).
   • If there is a will, but it does not contain an attestation clause signed by the witnesses, it may be helpful to attach an affidavit from one of the original witnesses that he or she was present at the signing, and that everyone involved was of sound mind and not under any duress.
   • If there is no will, or the will does not name you as first choice among executors (still living), it may be helpful to attach a renunciation from anyone with equal or higher priority: use Renunciation of Executor (Form 76A) if there is a will, or Renunciation of Administrator (Form 76A) if not. If there is a will, but it does not name you or the other person as executor, use the second form but edit it to change the reference of not having a will.
   • Save $$: If there is no will, you may wish to avoid probate bond costs by attaching a bond waiver request (see Probate Bonds).
   • Attach the will (if it exists), and an official copy of the death certificate or the funeral director’s statement of death.
   • See also Yukon Department of Justice Estate Administration Publications.
2. Notice of Probate: In the Yukon, if the estate will go through probate, after you submit your application to the court, you must notify anyone named in the will to inherit from the estate, and anyone who would inherit if there were no will (i.e., heirs-at-law):
   • See Estate Administration Act, RSY 2002, c. 77 rule 108 for instructions, as well as a template for the notice.
   • When notifying someone with equal or higher priority to serve as personal representative, you must include some additional language as specified in Estate Administration Act, RSY 2002, c. 77 rule 64 (3c) (of course, this notice is not necessary if you already have a renunciation from the person).
   • These notices must be mailed at least 14 days before the scheduled probate hearing (Estate Administration Act, RSY 2002, c. 77 rule 64 (4)).
   • Tell the court you made the required notices by submitting an Affidavit of Notice of Application (Form 73).
3. Probate Hearing: The court will hold a hearing to officially consider and approve your application. Often this hearing is just a formality, and you may not need to attend at all.
4. Probate Bond: If required by the court, you must obtain a probate bond to protect the estate from any losses you may cause (up to a certain dollar amount). Requirements for such a bond can depend on jurisdiction, whether there is a will, size of estate, whether you reside in the same province, and other factors. See Probate Bonds for advice on how to potentially avoid the need fo such a bond.
5. Objections: Note that interested parties have the right to legally challenge your application (before your official appointment, or even afterwards).
6. Letters: Once the court approves your application, you will receive your "Letters", which are certified documents you can use to prove your authority to third parties. If you applied for "probate", you will officially be known as the "executor" of the estate. If instead you applied for "administration", you will be known as the "administrator". Many provinces also use the term "personal representative" to cover both cases, sometimes deprecating the uses of the more precise terms.

If you'd like, friendly and experienced EstateExec personnel can fill out your probate application forms for you: see Probate Form Service. If you just want answers to a few legal questions, you can talk to an experienced lawyer for a surprisingly modest fee – see Have a Question?

In the Yukon, the Supreme Court of Yukon handles probate and estate administration.

In case you're interested, instructions for probate application in other provinces can be found here: