Wills & Estate Planning guides
Legal guides from Equity Law Group on Wills & Estate Planning in British Columbia. For help with your own matter, see our Wills & Estate Planning service or contact us.
Naming an Executor Who Lives Outside BC or Canada
October 19, 2026
An executor can live in another province or country, but distance brings practical delays and, if the executor lives outside Canada, possible tax questions about where the estate is resident. Here is what to weigh before you name someone far away.
Co-Executors in BC: When Naming Two Helps and When It Backfires
October 19, 2026
Naming two or more executors in a BC will can share the work and build in checks, but it can also lead to deadlock. Here is how co-executors work under WESA and the court rules, and the will clauses that help them work together.
After Your Spouse Dies: Updating Your Own Will and Estate Plan
October 15, 2026
Most couples' wills and powers of attorney are built around each other. After a spouse dies, the survivor's own plan can have gaps: gifts with no one to receive them, no executor, an attorney who can no longer act. What BC law does, and what to update.
Does a Power of Attorney End at Death? Attorney vs Executor in BC
October 15, 2026
In BC, an enduring power of attorney ends when the adult dies, and the executor named in the will takes over. Here is what changes at the moment of death, what the attorney should hand over, and how families manage the weeks before probate.
Worried Someone Is Misusing a Parent's Power of Attorney? Options in BC
October 15, 2026
If you think a sibling or relative is misusing a living parent's enduring power of attorney, BC law gives you options: asking for records, reporting to the Public Guardian and Trustee or a designated agency, and applying to court.
Advance Directives in BC: Putting Your Health Care Wishes in Writing
October 15, 2026
An advance directive lets a capable adult in BC give or refuse consent to health care ahead of time. Here is what it binds, how it must be signed and witnessed, when a health care provider can set it aside, and how it works alongside a representative.
What Your Attorney Can and Can't Do Under a BC Enduring Power of Attorney
October 14, 2026
An attorney under a BC enduring power of attorney can manage almost all of your finances, but the Power of Attorney Act sets firm duties and limits. Here is what an attorney must do, what they cannot do, and the rules on gifts, loans, pay and records.
Alter Ego and Joint Partner Trusts in BC: Are They Worth It at 65+?
October 14, 2026
If you are 65 or older, an alter ego trust or a joint partner trust can keep assets out of probate and out of the public probate file. They do not reduce income tax, and they bring set-up and annual costs, so they suit some estates and not others.
Adding a Child to Your Bank Account: What Happens to It When You Die?
October 14, 2026
Many BC parents add an adult child to a bank account for convenience or to avoid probate. Whether that child keeps the money when you die depends on what you intended, not just the bank form. Here is how to make your wishes clear.
Protecting Your Kids' Inheritance From an Ex-Spouse's Control
October 14, 2026
If you die while your children are minors, their inheritance has to be managed by someone. Without planning, your ex-spouse could end up holding some or all of it. A trust in your will, with a trustee you choose, keeps the money for your children on your terms.
Common-Law Couples in BC: Why You Still Need a Will
October 14, 2026
BC law can treat a common-law partner as a spouse after two years together, but that does not mean your estate will go where you expect. Here is how the rules work without a will, the gaps they leave, and what a will lets you control.
Your First Wills Appointment in BC: What to Bring and Decisions to Make
October 14, 2026
Arriving at your wills appointment prepared saves time and helps you make better decisions. This checklist covers the information to gather, the choices to think through beforehand, and the BC signing rules that make a will valid.
Handwritten Wills in BC: Are They Valid?
October 12, 2026
BC has no stand-alone rule for holographic wills. A handwritten will is valid only if it is signed and witnessed like any other will, and an unwitnessed one needs a court order under WESA section 58 before anyone can rely on it.
RRSP and RRIF Beneficiaries in BC: Naming a Person or Your Estate
October 12, 2026
Naming a beneficiary on your RRSP or RRIF moves the money outside your will, but the income tax on it usually falls on your estate. Here is how BC designations work, when a spouse can defer the tax, and how to keep your plans and your will in step.
Bought a Home in BC? Why Your Will Needs a Second Look
October 12, 2026
Buying a home in BC changes your estate. How you hold title, who pays the mortgage on death, and whether an older will still describes your property all affect who ends up with the home. Here is what to review after completion.
A Parent's Dementia Diagnosis: Estate Planning Steps to Take Now
October 12, 2026
A dementia diagnosis does not automatically end a person's ability to make a will or a power of attorney in BC. Here is how capacity is tested for each document, the steps families should take now, and what happens if the window has already closed.
Losing Capacity Without a Power of Attorney in BC: What Happens Next
October 12, 2026
If a parent in BC loses capacity without an enduring power of attorney, family members have no automatic authority over their finances. Here is how committeeship under the Patients Property Act works, when the Public Guardian and Trustee steps in, and what to check first.
Disinheriting a Child in BC: What the Law Allows and How to Record Your Reasons
October 9, 2026
BC parents can sign a will that leaves out a child, but the child can ask a court to vary it under WESA. Learn how courts weigh a parent's obligations, why your written reasons matter, and the practical steps that support your decision.
Henson Trusts in BC: Leaving Money to a Loved One With a Disability
October 9, 2026
An inheritance left outright to someone on BC disability assistance can count against their benefits. A Henson trust, a fully discretionary trust set up in your will, is one way to provide for them without that result. Here is how BC's rules treat trusts and what the will should cover.
Leaving an Inheritance to Minor Children in BC: Trusts vs the Public Guardian
October 9, 2026
If a child under 19 inherits in BC and the will sets up no trust, the executor must generally pay the child's share to the Public Guardian and Trustee, and the child receives it at 19. A trust in your will lets you choose who manages the money and when it is paid.
Naming a Guardian for Your Children in a BC Will
October 9, 2026
In BC, a parent who is a guardian can appoint someone to become their child's guardian on death, usually in a will. Here is how the appointment works, why you need a backup, and why the person who raises your children may not be the one who manages their inheritance.
Will Kit, Online Will or Lawyer? What BC Will-Makers Should Weigh
October 8, 2026
BC law does not require a lawyer to make a will, and kits and online services can produce a valid one. Whether that is enough depends on your family, your property and how carefully the will is signed. Here is what to weigh.
Adding an Adult Child to Your Home's Title in BC: The Risks
October 8, 2026
Putting an adult child on title to your home can look like a simple way to avoid probate. In BC it can also create trust disputes, tax exposure, creditor and family-law risks and new reporting questions. Here is what to weigh first.
Making Your BC Will Harder to Challenge
October 8, 2026
No will in British Columbia can be made immune from challenge. But most will disputes rest on a few predictable grounds, and the steps you take when making the will can make those claims harder to bring and easier to defend.
Choosing an Executor in BC: Who to Name and What to Consider
October 8, 2026
Your executor will run your estate, deal with your family and answer to your beneficiaries. Here is what BC law says about who can act, why an alternate matters, and how co-executors, out-of-province executors and professionals work in practice.
When to Update Your Will in BC: Life Events That Should Trigger a Review
October 7, 2026
A will signed years ago may no longer do what you want. Here are the life events that should prompt a review in BC, from separation and a new partner to children, moves, property and business, and the WESA rules that change a will without you noticing.
Estate Planning for Blended Families in BC
October 7, 2026
In a blended family, your spouse and your children from an earlier relationship can each have claims on your estate. Here is how BC's wills law treats spouses, children and stepchildren, and the planning tools that help you provide for everyone you intend to.
Estate Planning Documents Every BC Adult Should Have
October 7, 2026
A will is only one part of an estate plan. This guide explains the documents most BC adults should consider, including a will, an enduring power of attorney, a representation agreement, an advance directive and up-to-date beneficiary designations, and how they work together.
Reducing Probate Fees in BC: What Works and What Backfires
October 6, 2026
BC probate fees run at about 1.4% of an estate's value above $50,000, so many families look for ways around them. Joint ownership, beneficiary designations, alter ego trusts and lifetime gifts can reduce the fee, but each has trade-offs that can cost more than it saves.
Making a Valid Will in BC: Signing, Witnesses and the Formalities That Matter
October 5, 2026
A plain-language guide to the formal rules for a valid will in British Columbia: who can make one, how it must be signed, who can witness it and who should not, how electronic wills work, and why relying on the court to fix a signing mistake is not a plan.
Dying Without a Will in BC: Who Actually Inherits
October 4, 2026
Die without a will in British Columbia and the Wills, Estates and Succession Act writes one for you. It is not the one most people would have chosen. Here is who inherits, how the spouse's share is calculated, and the two family situations where the default rules surprise people most.
Power of Attorney or Representation Agreement? Which One You Need in BC (Often Both)
October 4, 2026
British Columbia splits incapacity planning into two documents that are constantly confused with each other. One deals with your money and property, the other with your health and personal care, and neither does the other's job. Here is how they differ and why most adults should have both.