SUNSTRUM ESTATE (RE), 2026 ABKB 491

The Court clarified that estate litigation is not subject to a special costs regime. While personal representatives may recover legal expenses reasonably incurred in administering an estate under the Surrogate Rules, litigation costs are governed by the Rules. There is no presumption that personal representatives or beneficiaries are entitled to have their legal fees paid from the estate, nor are unsuccessful estate litigants entitled to indemnification simply because the dispute concerns an estate. The recognized exceptions, such as disputes over the validity or interpretation of a will or claims under dependant's relief legislation, remain rare.

The Court reviewed Rule 10.29, confirming that costs generally follow the event, although where success is divided, parties may bear their own costs or costs may be apportioned by issue. The Court further emphasized that Rule 10.33 grants broad discretion to determine costs by considering litigation conduct, including unnecessary or disproportionate steps, delay, refusals to admit facts, unnecessary applications, breaches of the Rules or Court Orders, and other misconduct. Applying these principles, the Court held that the Personal Representatives' failure to provide timely accounts until compelled by Court Order, and the resulting unnecessary litigation, justified refusing indemnification for their legal fees incurred before the initial accounts were delivered.

The Court also rejected the parties' assumption that solicitor-and-client costs were available because the litigation involved an estate. Such awards remain exceptional and must satisfy Rule 10.2, including the principle of proportionality and adequate evidentiary support. Parties seeking solicitor-and-client costs must provide sufficient disclosure, including their lawyer's accounts, detailed time dockets, and a Schedule C Bill of Costs, to permit meaningful scrutiny by both the opposing parties and the Court, subject only to limited redactions for privileged information.

The decision confirms that the ordinary costs principles under the Rules apply equally in estate litigation, while reinforcing that estates should not be depleted by unnecessary litigation or by legal fees incurred in advancing a personal representative's own interests rather than the proper administration of the estate.