What does probate REALLY cost? (updated Aug 27, 2013)

With all this talk about probate and avoiding probate, it's important to have the facts. I'm often asked what probate costs. I know the people who ask me that would love a really short answer, such as "it costs $100", but realistically that short answer doesn't exist. What probate will cost depends on where in Canada you live, and what assets are in the estate.

When we talk about the cost of probate, strictly speaking the answer should be about what the court will charge you to process the probate application. To me, though that answer is essential, it's not the whole picture. The other half of the picture is the fee charged by the lawyer. In this post I'll look at both.

First of all, court fees (otherwise known as probate fees). If you apply for probate, there is no way to avoid paying a fee, even if you don't use a lawyer. Each province and territory is different and a chart of the court probate fees by province is shown at the end of this post. There is no fee or a very low fee for smaller estates. The areas of Canada that have a maximum fee are Alberta ($400) and Quebec ($65). In every other province and territory, the fee continues to increase as the size of the estate increases and there is no upper limit. This is one of the main reasons individuals like to do estate planning - they'd rather arrange things so that the money ends up with their families and not the "taxman".

Secondly, lawyer's fees. Again, they change from one place to another. It's not unusual for a lawyer to charge a percentage of the estate (up to 2% , but less for larger estates). However, it's more common that a lawyer will charge by the hour. This is because it's not always possible at the beginning of a matter to determine how long it's going to take to do the job. "Getting probate" is a complicated process if the deceased owned property that needs to be appraised, or had accounts in several banks and brokerages, or owned assets overseas.

Alberta	$25 for estates under $10,000 $100 for estates between $10,000 and $24,999 $200 for estates between $25,000 and $124,999 $300 for estates between $125,000 and $249,999 $400 for estates of $250,000 or more
British Columbia	$0 for estates under $10,000 $208 for estates between $10,001 and $25,000 $6 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) by which the value of the estate exceeds $25,000 but is not more than $50,000 Plus $14 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) by which the value of the estate exceeds $50,000
Manitoba	$50 for the first $10,000 $6 for every $1,000 by which the value of the estate exceeds  $10,000
New Brunswick	$5 for each $1,000
Newfoundland and Labrador	$85 for the first $10,000 $5 for every $1,000 by which the value of the estate exceeds $10,000 Plus $50 for the probate Order
Northwest Territories	$25 for estates under $10,000 $100 for estates between $10,000 and $25,000 $200 for estates between $25,000 and $125,000 $300 for estates between $125,000 and $250,000 $400 for estates worth $250,000 or more
Nova Scotia	$70 for estates under $10,000 $176 for estates between $10,000 and $25,000 $293 for estates between $25,000 and $50,000 $820 for estates between $50,000 and $100,000 Plus $13.85 for each $1,000 (or part of $1,000) by which the value of the estate exceeds $100,000
Nunavut	$25 for estates under $10,000 $100 for estates between $10,000 and $25,000 $200 for estates between $25,000 and $125,000 $300 for estates between $125,000 and $250,000 $400 for estates worth $250,000 or more
Ontario	$5 for each $1,000 for the first $50,000 Plus $15 for each $1,000 (or part of $1,000) by which the value of the estate exceeds $50,000
Prince Edward Island	$50 for estates up to 10,000 $400 for estates from $10,001 to $100,000 Plus $4 for each $1,000 (or part of $1,000) by which the value of the estate exceeds $100,000 Plus closing fee of 0.2%
Quebec	$0 for notarial wills $65 for non-notarial wills
Saskatchewan	$7 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) of estate value
Yukon	$0 for estates up to $25,000 $140 for estates that exceed $25,000