Release
Department of Justice and Public Safety
March 24, 2026
Updated
March 25, 2026
The government has introduced legislation that would make administering smaller estates easier and more efficient. From left: Nicolas Brouard-Ayres, legal counsel, public trustee services; Shannon Benjamin, legal counsel, public trustee services; Justice Minister and Attorney General Robert McKee; Chantal Landry, executive director of the New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission; and Christian Whalen, public trustee.
FREDERICTON (GNB) – The government has introduced legislation that would make administering smaller estates easier and more efficient.
The proposed changes would increase the value threshold for small estates to $25,000 from $3,000. This would allow the public trustee to administer more estates without a court order.
“Updating the small-estate threshold will allow estates to be administered more efficiently while helping reduce the burden on the courts,” said Justice Minister and Attorney General Robert McKee. “These changes will help ensure that beneficiaries and heirs receive what they are entitled to in a timelier manner.”
The public trustee may act on behalf of a person who dies without someone to administer his or her estate. The proposed changes would allow more estates to be handled under the simplified small-estate process.
The legislation would also allow the public trustee to release property valued at $25,000 or less directly to a verified executor, without requiring probate, when proof of entitlement is provided.
In addition, the changes would give the court discretion to waive certain notification and consent requirements in cases where next of kin cannot be identified or located. This would help ensure that estates can still be administered in these circumstances.
“The commission welcomes these amendments, which will enable our public trustee services to manage estate files with greater efficiency,” said Chantal Landry, executive director of the New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission. “Importantly, these changes will not only reduce the time and administrative burden on the courts, they will also ensure that inheritances are distributed to beneficiaries and heirs more quickly.”
If passed, the legislation would modernize estate administration in New Brunswick and align the province’s laws in this area more closely with those in other Canadian jurisdictions.
24-03-26
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Media Contact(s)
Jade Emmanuel, communications, Department of Justice and Public Safety, [email protected].