Saskatchewan
What to do when someone dies in Saskatchewan: a step-by-step checklist
A Saskatchewan checklist for the first days after a death: registering the death with eHealth Saskatchewan, ordering certificates, applying for Letters Probate, and Saskatchewan-specific notifications.
- Called
- executor
- Court authority
- Letters Probate
- Death registered with
- eHealth Saskatchewan Vital Statistics
Saskatchewan's estate process is governed by The Administration of Estates Act and The Queen's Bench Rules. The person named in a will is the executor, and the court authority is known as Letters Probate — Letters of Administration where there is no will.
Registering the death in Saskatchewan
The funeral director registers the death with Vital Statistics, administered by eHealth Saskatchewan. Death certificates are ordered from eHealth once the registration is complete. Five to ten copies is a normal number for an estate with a house, a few accounts and a pension.
Letters Probate in Saskatchewan
- The application is filed with the Court of King's Bench in the judicial centre nearest the deceased's residence.
- Saskatchewan charges a court fee calculated as a percentage of the value of the estate passing through it.
- An inventory of property and debts, with date-of-death values, forms part of the application.
- Land is transferred through Information Services Corporation (ISC), which administers Saskatchewan's land titles registry.
Saskatchewan-specific notifications
- eHealth Saskatchewan — cancel the provincial health card.
- SGI — driver's licence, vehicle registration, plates and auto insurance.
- Information Services Corporation, where real property or mineral titles are held.
- Saskatchewan Income Support or the Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability, if received.
- SaskPower, SaskEnergy and SaskTel accounts.
Steps that are the same everywhere in Canada
- 1Get the legal pronouncement of death. In hospital or long-term care, staff handle it. At home, call 911 unless the death was expected and a plan is in place.
- 2Contact the funeral home or crematorium. They register the death and file the paperwork that produces the death certificate.
- 3Find the will and any funeral or burial wishes before arrangements are finalized.
- 4Tell close family and the person's employer. Ask the employer about group life insurance, a final pay period and benefits for a surviving spouse.
- 5Secure the home, pets, vehicles and anything of value. Redirect the mail once you have authority to do so.
- 6Do not cancel anything paid automatically until you know what it covers — insurance especially.
Federal notifications
- Service Canada — cancel the Social Insurance Number, Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement, and apply for the Canada Pension Plan death benefit, survivor's pension and children's benefit. In Quebec, this is Retraite Québec instead.
- Canada Revenue Agency — report the date of death, stop benefit payments such as the GST/HST credit and Canada Child Benefit, and file the final T1 return.
- Passport Canada — return the passport for cancellation.
- Veterans Affairs Canada, if the person served.
- Any federal pension plan the person contributed to.
General information about public processes in Saskatchewan, not legal or tax advice. Confirm current requirements with the province or a lawyer.
Everything above starts with finding information.
A Life Box holds the documents, accounts, policies, property and people your executor would otherwise have to go looking for — organized while you're here, released only after authority is verified.