Estate planning in Alberta: the complete picture
Alberta in one page: Wills and Succession Act validity rules, adult interdependent partners, the $525 surrogate fee cap, family maintenance claims, and the no-electronic-wills rule.
Alberta consolidated its succession law into the Wills and Succession Act in 2012, and the result is one of the tidier regimes in the country — with two features that exist nowhere else and one formality trap.
Valid wills under the WSA
Written; made by someone 18+ (younger with a spouse/AIP or on active Canadian Forces service) with capacity; signed by the testator; witnessed by two people 18+, present together, neither a beneficiary nor a beneficiary’s spouse — the void-gift rule applies. Holograph wills — wholly handwritten, signed — are valid under s 16 with no witnesses.
The formality trap: no electronic anything. Alberta permits neither electronic wills (BC does) nor remote witnessing (Ontario does, conditionally). Paper, wet ink, two witnesses physically in the room. Alberta also did not adopt a general COVID-era remote execution regime for wills — if you signed something over Zoom in 2021 thinking it was fine because the news said so, that news was about other provinces. Re-execute it properly.
Marriage does not revoke an Alberta will (abolished with the WSA in 2012), and divorce or termination of an AIP relationship treats the ex as predeceased for gifts and appointments unless the will says otherwise.
The adult interdependent partner
Alberta’s own invention, from the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act: a person in a “relationship of interdependence” with you for three years, or any period with a child together, or immediately by signed agreement. An AIP has a married spouse’s rights on intestacy and standing for family maintenance and support claims (WSA Part 5) against a will. How the three provinces treat unmarried partners.
Intestacy
Spouse or AIP and no descendants → everything. Spouse/AIP and descendants all shared → still everything (Alberta assumes the surviving parent provides). Descendants not all shared → the spouse/AIP takes the greater of $150,000 or half the net estate, remainder to descendants. Intestacy in full.
Probate: the $525 ceiling
Surrogate fees under the Surrogate Rules, Schedule 2: $35 / $135 / $275 / $400 by band, capped at $525 above $250,000 — unchanged since 2015. Probate cost is simply not a planning driver in Alberta the way Ontario’s uncapped 1.5% is.
Incapacity documents
An Enduring Power of Attorney (Powers of Attorney Act, 18+, one qualified witness) for property, and a Personal Directive (Personal Directives Act, 18+, one witness) appointing an agent for health and personal care. Both are generated with your will here at no extra cost. POA rules compared.
Guardianship
Appointment by will under Alberta’s Family Law Act s 22, effective on death subject to the court’s best-interests review. Pair with a minors’ trust — Alberta’s Minors’ Property Act otherwise routes children’s inheritances through the Public Trustee.
Ready for the Alberta version? Wills in Alberta has the page-length summary, or start the questionnaire.
- Wills and Succession Act, SA 2010, c W-12.2
- Adult Interdependent Relationships Act, SA 2002, c A-4.5
- Surrogate Rules, Alta Reg 130/1995, Schedule 2
- Powers of Attorney Act, RSA 2000, c P-20; Personal Directives Act, RSA 2000, c P-6
Checked against source on August 4, 2026. Legislation changes — if you are relying on a figure here for a decision, verify it against the statute. This is general information, not legal advice about your situation.