Lawyer or Notary for a Will or Probate in BC: What Each Can Do

In BC, you can have a will prepared by a lawyer or by a notary public. Both are regulated professionals, and for many people either one is a sensible choice.

The difference lies in what the law allows each to do. This guide compares the two roles for wills, incapacity planning documents and probate, so you can match the professional to what your estate actually needs.

The short answer

For a straightforward will, a power of attorney or a representation agreement, both BC notaries and BC lawyers can prepare the documents and supervise the signing. The differences appear when a will needs a longer-term trust, when an estate goes through probate, and when a dispute arises. Those limits come from statute, not from preference.

What a BC notary can do

A notary’s authority is the list in section 18 of the Notaries Act. For wills and estate planning, a notary in good standing may:

• Prepare certain wills. Section 18(b) covers wills that distribute the estate immediately on death, wills with a gift over to alternate beneficiaries that vests immediately on death if the named beneficiaries die first, and wills that vest assets in beneficiaries as members of a class no later than when the youngest reaches 25.
• Prepare incapacity planning documents. Notaries may draw instruments under the Power of Attorney Act and the Representation Agreement Act, and advance directives under the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act (s 18(e.1)–(e.3)).
• Take affidavits and administer oaths. Section 18(d) and (e) allow a notary to draw affidavits and statutory declarations and to administer oaths.

Those categories cover many family wills, such as everything to a spouse and then to the children equally, with any trust for the children ending by age 25. A will that keeps an inheritance in a continuing trust beyond those limits falls outside them, for example a discretionary trust for a family member with a disability or a trust that holds a child’s share past 25. Our article on leaving an inheritance to minor children explains those choices.

What a lawyer can do

Under the Legal Profession Act, the practice of law includes giving legal advice, appearing as counsel, and drawing documents such as wills, trust deeds, powers of attorney, and documents relating to probate, a grant of administration or the estate of a deceased person (s 1). The definition excludes the lawful practice of a notary public, and section 15 reserves the rest of that work to practising lawyers, with listed exceptions. Every practising BC lawyer may also use the title of notary public and exercise a notary’s powers (s 14(3)).

In practical terms, a lawyer can prepare any kind of will, including one with long-term trusts, and can advise on the questions that often sit around a will, such as family property claims, a blended family or the risk that someone will challenge the will.

Can a notary probate a will in BC?

This is the question many people ask. Section 18 of the Notaries Act does not list probate applications, estate administration or court work. A notary can still commission affidavits you swear (s 18(d)–(e)), but preparing a probate application for an executor, advising on the estate and acting if someone objects fall within the practice of law under the Legal Profession Act.

You do not have to hire anyone. An executor can prepare and file their own application, and some do. Our article on whether you need a lawyer for probate explains when that works and when it tends not to.

If an estate turns contested, for example because someone files a notice of dispute or a spouse or child brings a wills variation claim, the matter may go to court. Appearing as counsel is part of the practice of law, so that is a lawyer’s role.

How to choose

• Either professional can suit you if your will leaves everything outright to adults or in a trust that ends by 25, your assets are in BC, and you also want a power of attorney, representation agreement or advance directive.
• A lawyer’s broader scope may matter if you want a trust that continues beyond those limits, or you have a blended family, a business, assets outside BC, or someone you expect to dispute the will.
• For probate, an executor can apply on their own or hire a lawyer to prepare the application and advise on the estate.

Whichever you choose, describe your family and assets at the first meeting and ask how they would handle your situation if it later becomes more complex. Our wills appointment checklist lists what to bring, and our comparison of will kits, online wills and lawyers covers the do-it-yourself options. The same scope question arises when buying a home.

Single-regulator legislation: status as of 1 November 2026

Today, lawyers and notaries are governed by separate statutes and separate regulators. The Legal Professions Act (SBC 2024, c 26), which received Royal Assent on 16 May 2024, would bring the legal professions under a single regulator. As of 1 November 2026, its main provisions are not in force; only transitional provisions, such as those setting up a transitional board, are.

The BC Supreme Court dismissed the Law Society’s constitutional challenge to the Act on 29 April 2026. The Law Society and the Trial Lawyers Association of BC have appealed, and the Law Society reports that the appeal hearing, first set for 16 and 17 November 2026, has been rescheduled to 18 to 20 January 2027. Until the Act is brought into force, the Notaries Act and the current Legal Profession Act set out who may do what.

Planning your will? Match the help to what your estate needs

Our wills and estate planning lawyers can prepare wills with or without trusts, powers of attorney, representation agreements and advance directives, and can help your executor with probate when the time comes.

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