Should not be too difficult. I have done one bike from Alberta, and am currently going through the process with one stolen from Alberta.
I am making some assumptions:
1. That the deceased previous owned had it registered in Alberta;
2. That you have a pick-up truck or trailer and can easily move the bike;
3. That the bike is complete or relatively complete, and an ICBC broker will be able to visually confirm the VIN on a complete or relatively complete bike (the old days of registering just a frame before you build a bike are becoming a challenge); and
4. That the current unregistered Alberta owner will be cooperative with the paper work, information, and be willing to sign certain documents you request of them (gender neutral him/her).
You are going to need to do a bit of paper work.
The process for a bike that was last registered in British Columbia is going to be avoided. Hence the first step is establishing that it is currently registered in Alberta. To do this, go online with a Visa card ready, and request a Vehicle Information Report. In Alberta these are private agencies, and I won't recommend one over the other. Within minutes of fleecing you a few bucks, they will email you a printable Vehicle Information Report. I'd do this first, although its best to have up to the minute information when you go to ICBC. If you are confident with your seller's assurance that it was last registered in Alberta, do it last. Note: the Vehicle Information Report will not say who the registered owner is; it will only describe the current status. This can be a blessing or a burden, depending on how honest you want to be with ICBC. My absolute open book practice with ICBC has not failed me to get every bike registered, but it has created more steps and paperwork.
The next step (after you buy it) is establishing legal ownership. This is not same as registered ownership because until ICBC gives you the nod of approval, you are not registered, but you have a legal right to assert ownership. Legal ownership is passed with a Bill of Sale from the current legal owner (pay attention here, not the current registered owner) to you for valuable consideration. Don't try to skirt around the purchase price, the Bill of Sale should reflect what you actually paid and not a "wink wink nudge nudge" attempt to save some taxes. ICBC has a good idea of the fair market value of old bikes.
If you have a Bill of Sale from the seller, and if the seller is from Alberta, and if the Vehicle Information Report shows it is currently registered in Alberta, you could probably haul the bike down to Hub/Barton (blatant plug for this local business) and register the bike.
However, in the interests of having nothing go haywire, and in the interest of establishing yourself as trustworthy with Hub/Barton (which has assisted me to no end over the years), I would address the fact that the current legal owner is not the registered owner, but is the legal owner. To do this in BC, I often use an ICBC Statutory Declaration. It is a standard form and can be completed with a pen provided you don't write too much (avoiding too much information is sometimes a good thing). The Statutory Declaration would simply be the seller's story of how they came to be the legal owner. Example "I purchased ...[bike] ... from [Mr. Blogs] in [year] for $x. Mr. Blogs did not have the registration papers ..." Etcetera. The more information that establishes that the seller is the legal owner (just prior to selling it to you as evidenced by the Bill of Sale described above) the better. Word of caution, being given a bike that was left in someone's field/shed does not establish legal ownership. The seller needs to have received it as an absolute unconditional gift, or purchased it for valuable consideration from some other legal owner. Nothing in this diatribe addresses salvaged or stolen motorcycles.
A Statutory Declaration is a sworn statement and needs to be sworn in front of a lawyer or notary or some other commissioner for taking oaths in Alberta. Your seller may not be willing to do this. The alternative would be to have them write out, in their own words all of the above information and just say its true. This is not as good as a Statutory Declaration, and may end up with you having to do one attaching their letter, Bill of Sale, photos of the bike and VIN in your own Statutory Declaration.
Take all of the above documents and the bike down to Hub/Barton, and ask to speak to the kind ladies who do this stuff. Drop my name, they love me.
If you go anywhere else be advised that your Alberta motorcycle does NOT have to be inspected (other than the VIN confirmation) to be registered in BC. The ladies at Hub/Barton know this, but some of the other brokers don't because they read their checklists without checking the fine print. The Motor Vehicle Act Regulations s. 25.24 and Schedule 2(1)(a) exclude motorcycles.
If the above works as smooth as I have speculated, you owe me a 24 of beer.
Peace & Paperwork, Dennis
