Disinheriting a Child in BC: What the Law Allows and How to Record Your Reasons

Parents sometimes decide, after long thought, to leave a child out of their will or to leave that child much less than the others. In BC you can make that choice, but the law gives children, including adult children, a way to ask a court to change it.

This guide explains how BC courts approach a parent's obligations, how your reasons are weighed, and what you can do now to give your decision a firmer footing.

Can you leave a child out of your will in BC?

You can sign a will that leaves a child nothing. The will is valid, and nothing in BC law requires a parent to divide an estate equally. What BC law does is give that child a way to ask a court to change the result after you die.

Section 60 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) allows a court to vary a will that does not, in the court's opinion, make adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support of the will-maker's spouse or children. If it reaches that view, the court can order the provision it thinks adequate, just and equitable, paid out of your estate.

That right is not limited to young or dependent children. Adult children who are financially independent can and do bring these claims. So the real question for a parent is not whether you are allowed to disinherit a child, but how likely your decision is to hold if it is challenged, and what you can do now to support it.

How courts look at a parent's obligations

The key case is Tataryn v. Tataryn Estate, decided by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1994 under WESA's predecessor, the Wills Variation Act. Section 60 uses the same "adequate, just and equitable" wording. The Court described a will-maker's obligations in two layers:

• Legal obligations: what the law would have required you to provide while you were alive, such as support for a minor child.
• Moral obligations: what a parent would be expected to provide, judged by contemporary standards and expectations. Adult independent children can have a moral claim even where there is no legal one.

The Court also recognized that a will-maker's freedom to decide is limited only to the extent the statute requires. Where the will falls within the range of choices that meet those obligations, it should be respected. That is why reasons matter: they help a court see whether your choice sits within that range.

Why your reasons count

Section 62 of WESA lets the court accept evidence of your reasons, so far as they can be determined, for the gifts in your will or for not making adequate provision for a spouse or child. That includes a written statement signed by you.

The same section tells the court how to weigh such a statement: it must consider all the circumstances from which it can reasonably draw an inference about whether the statement is accurate. In practice, that means:

• Reasons need to be true. A statement that a child "never visited" can be undermined by photos, messages or witnesses showing otherwise.
• Specific reasons carry more weight than general ones. Describe what happened, roughly when, and how it affected the relationship, rather than offering a label such as "ungrateful".
• Reasons should connect to the gift. Large lifetime gifts already given to the child, or the greater needs of another child, are examples of reasons that relate directly to how you divide the estate.
• Tone matters. An angry or exaggerated statement can work against you. Calm, factual reasons are easier for a court to accept.

Separately, section 63 allows the court to refuse an order in favour of a person whose character or conduct, in the court's opinion, disentitles them to it. Serious misconduct toward you may be relevant, but that is the court's judgment to make, based on evidence after your death.

Our article on making a will harder to challenge covers the wider steps, such as capacity and independence, that support any will.

Practical steps if you plan to disinherit a child

• Make the decision express. Name the child and say that you have deliberately left them out, or left them a smaller share, so nobody can argue it was an oversight.
• Record your reasons separately and carefully. A signed statement kept with your lawyer, rather than in the will itself, avoids putting personal criticism in a document that may be read by others. Your lawyer's own notes of your instructions can also help.
• Keep supporting records. Records of loans, lifetime gifts or attempts at contact help show that your reasons are accurate.
• Revisit the decision. Relationships change. Reasons that were accurate ten years ago may not be accurate when you die, and a court will look at the circumstances as a whole.
• Consider a reduced gift rather than nothing. Some parents leave a modest gift with an explanation. Whether that helps depends on your family and your estate, so discuss it with your lawyer.

What about assets outside the estate?

A court's order under section 60 is made out of your estate. Assets that pass outside the estate, such as a registered plan with a named beneficiary, generally do not form part of it; section 95 of WESA says so for benefit plans. Property held in joint tenancy usually passes to the surviving owner rather than under your will.

That does not make these tools a simple workaround. Transfers made to defeat a claim can be challenged on other grounds, joint ownership carries its own risks during your lifetime, and moving assets can have tax and family-law consequences. Any restructuring should be planned with legal and tax advice, not done on your own.

What happens after you die

A child who wants to vary your will must start a court proceeding within 180 days after the grant of probate or administration is issued in BC, and serve the executor within the time WESA allows. Your executor will respond to the claim, and the reasons and records you left become part of the evidence. Our guide to contesting a will in BC explains that process from the claimant's side.

Thinking of leaving a child out of your will? Plan it with care

Our wills and estate planning lawyers can take your instructions, draft a will that states your intentions clearly, help you record your reasons in a measured way, and review whether other planning steps suit your family.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.