Since my mother died I have had to ask for a copy of her Will…

I Am sorry for the loss of your mother.

If your mother left her house and her will to your sister, then the other beneficiaries will not have any basis to contest her keeping the house. This was the wish of the property owner. The only way to try to challenge that would be to challenge the will itself, claiming that it was made in circumstances where it is not valid, such as if the person making it did not have proper mental capacity to do so. If there is no valid will, then Alberta law provides that all property would be divided equally among any children of the deceased.

The executor would not have permission though to take all of the contents of the house into her permanent possession, unless the will specifies that she is also to receive house contents, and not just the house itself. The contents would be part of the residue of the estate, and would have to be divided, or their value divided, equally among the people as specified in the will. Executor has a duty to take control of all estate assets and to make an inventory of what exists, so that it is available for distribution as required by the will. That does not necessarily mean that the executor can simply take all of the items into her personal possession, or to use those items pending any distribution.

The executor will have to provide an accounting to all beneficiaries regarding an inventory of the estate, what expenses have been paid on behalf of the estate, and how the remaining property is distributed. It is open to an executor to be challenged in court if a beneficiary does not believe they are carrying out their duties, or does not agree with the accounting. The Court of Queens Bench has the ability to replace the executor with a court appointed administrator.

The executor will have to give an accounting of what property exists as of the date of death of your mother. She will not have to give an accounting of bank accounts for the last several years. If you think there is evidence that she misappropriated funds of your mother over the last several years, someone would need to apply to have her removed as executor, and an administrator appointed to administer her estate would then be able to potentially sue her, on behalf of your mothers estate.

A lawyer is not mandatory for steps such as trying to challenge the will, or seeking to have her removed as executor, but the law and procedure involved is not simple and an experienced estate litigation lawyer will be very useful. We are not allowed to refer you to specific lawyers here due to site policies. But the Law Society Of Alberta has a free referral service and they have information on that at their web site.

I hope this is helpful. If you have no further questions, please rate the answer positively, as otherwise the site does not credit me, even if you have paid a deposit. You can still ask follow up questions after rating though, if you wish.