MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2016
 Saskatchewan requires executors to disclose all life insurance policies owned by the deceased person, as well as the policies’ designated beneficiaries.
Accordingly, for people who seek probate for an estate in Saskatchewan, it is not appropriate to assume they can use life insurance or segregated fund policies to pass the death benefit to others privately.
In many cases, privacy can be a valuable feature of life insurance and segregated fund policies. This is because when the death benefit passes to named beneficiaries, it does so outside the estate. As a result, the policy is generally not part of the public record associated with the estate.
In Saskatchewan, however, the privacy situation is more complicated.
In Saskatchewan, according to the Rules of Practice and Procedure, when executors apply for probate, they must disclose all life insurance policies they are aware of owned by the deceased person. This includes segregated fund policies. Executors must not only disclose policies payable to the estate, they must also disclose policies payable to named beneficiaries. They must list the insurance company, policy number, designated beneficiary and value at the date of death.
The good news, from a privacy viewpoint, is that although this information becomes part of the court file, access to it is restricted. According to the Saskatchewan Law Courts’ public access guidelines, the only people who can access the schedule of assets without court authorization are a personal representative, a beneficiary, someone with an interest in an estate or someone authorized by one of these.
It is also good news that policies payable to named beneficiaries are not included in the estate’s assets, when calculating provincial estate tax (probate).
In summary, there is a degree of privacy, but it is not complete. For further information on this you can go to sasklawcourts.ca.
-Russ MacDonald
Heritage Insurance Ltd., (306) 631-9738
*****
Make sure your family is protected. Call Heritage Insurance, Ltd. at (800) 667-7640 for more information on Moose Jaw SK life insurance.
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