Summary#
Bill 35, An Act to Amend the Probate Court Act, would amend New Brunswick’s existing Probate Court Act. Its stated goal is not set out in the supplied text; the bill changes the probate-tax wording and sets a tax schedule for certain grants of probate or administration. This is a first-reading bill, so it is not law, and passage is uncertain.
- An estate would pay the province a tax for each qualifying grant and each approval of accounts, including related services. The bill excludes special or restricted grants, supplementary grants, and grants of administration de bonis non (for property left unadministered by a previous administrator).
- For a qualifying grant, the tax would be $200 for an estate or part of an estate valued at $20,000 or less.
- Above $20,000 and up to $100,000, the tax would be $200 plus $5 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, above $20,000.
- Above $100,000, it would be $600 plus $15 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, above $100,000.
- The bill also changes wording in the French version of the Act. The supplied material does not establish the existing tax rates, so it is not possible to say whether the new schedule would raise or lower the tax.
What it means for you#
- Estates and people handling them: The estate, not a named individual, would owe the tax described in the bill. The amount for a qualifying grant would depend on the value of the estate or part being administered.
- People seeking other types of grants: The tax listed for qualifying grants would not apply to the three excluded types of grant. The bill does not say that those estates are exempt from any tax for approving accounts.
- People whose estates need accounts approved: The bill’s French wording includes a tax for each approval of accounts, including related services. The supplied bill text does not give the amount for that tax.
- The bill does not set out a new application, review, appeal, or enforcement process, or change who is eligible for probate.
Money#
No cost or revenue estimate is available in the supplied material.
- The bill sets amounts that estates would pay for qualifying grants, but the existing rates are not supplied, so the change in revenue cannot be determined.
- The bill does not provide a rate or amount for the tax on approval of accounts in the material supplied.
- No public spending, staffing, or implementation-cost estimate is provided.
What is unclear#
- How the proposed grant-tax schedule compares with the rates currently in force; the existing Probate Court Act was not supplied.
- What tax amount would apply to approval of accounts and related services.
- When the changes would start. No start date appears in the supplied text.
- How the tax would be calculated in particular cases, beyond the estate value thresholds and rounding stated in the bill.
- Whether and how the tax changes would affect other probate charges is not stated.
Case for#
- A possible argument for the bill is that it sets out a clear schedule based on the value of the estate or the part being administered.
- The schedule uses higher amounts above specified value thresholds, while listing a lower fixed amount for estates valued at $20,000 or less.
- The bill identifies grant types excluded from the grant-tax calculation, making those exceptions explicit.
Case against#
- The bill sets a $200 tax even for estates valued at $20,000 or less. That may be a significant charge relative to a small estate.
- The tax rises by $15 for each additional $1,000, or part of $1,000, above $100,000, with no cap stated in the supplied text.
- Without the current rates, readers cannot tell whether the bill increases or reduces what estates pay.
- The bill’s text includes a tax for approving accounts but does not show the amount for that tax in the supplied material.