Probate & Estate Administration Lawyers Vancouver

A will decides who inherits. By itself it does not move anything. Before an executor can deal with most assets, the court generally has to confirm their authority by issuing a grant, and that process is where families find out what the estate really involves.

Probate in British Columbia, step by step

1. Get a wills search certificate from the Vital Statistics Agency, to file with the application.
2. Deliver notice of the proposed application, with a copy of the will, to the executors, the beneficiaries and everyone who would inherit if there were no will. The Public Guardian and Trustee is notified where a minor or an incapable adult is involved.
3. Wait at least 21 days.
4. File at the Supreme Court registry with a sworn statement of the estate's assets and liabilities, and pay the probate fee. The registry currently takes three to six months to review the application and issue the grant; in exceptional circumstances an expedited application can be made.
5. Once the grant issues, collect the assets, pay the debts and file the tax returns.
6. Hold the distribution for 210 days after the grant unless the beneficiaries consent or the court allows it, because a spouse or child has 180 days to claim a variation of the will.
7. Obtain a Canada Revenue Agency clearance certificate, account to the beneficiaries, and distribute.

A home in the deceased's sole name generally cannot be sold or transferred until the grant issues. See real estate for how we handle the transfer or sale.

What probate costs

The probate fee is set by the Probate Fee Act. It is calculated on the estate's assets in British Columbia (and, for someone who lived here, their intangible assets anywhere), less mortgages registered against BC property. Nothing is payable on the first $25,000. Above that, the fee is $6 per $1,000 up to $50,000 and $14 per $1,000 beyond, and a $200 filing fee applies. An estate worth $500,000 pays $6,450 plus the filing fee; the usual rule of thumb of 1.4% overstates it.

Assets held in joint tenancy, and RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs and life insurance with a named beneficiary, generally pass outside the estate and outside the fee. One exception catches many families: when a parent adds an adult child to an account or a title without payment, the law presumes the child holds it for the estate unless the evidence shows a gift.

Legal fees are separate from the probate fee. For most straightforward probate applications we can fix our fee, and we explain how it is calculated from the outset.

When there is no will

Without a will, or where no named executor can act, the court grants administration instead, in an order of priority the Wills, Estates and Succession Act sets: the spouse first, then a child with the support of most of the children, then other relatives. The estate is divided by the Act's intestacy rules, which wills and estate planning explains. A bond is not usually required, though the court can order one, particularly where a minor or an incapable adult has an interest.

Executors and estates outside British Columbia

A grant issued in another Canadian province or territory, a Commonwealth country, a US state or Hong Kong can usually be resealed here instead of starting again. A grant from anywhere else needs a separate BC grant, called an ancillary grant. Executors who live abroad can act, but notice, sworn documents and banking are slower at a distance. We handle the entire British Columbia side of the application, whether for probate or a reseal.

When an estate is disputed

A spouse or child can ask the court to vary a will that does not make adequate provision for their proper maintenance and support. The claim must be started within 180 days of the grant and served on the executor within 30 days after that, and these deadlines are strict.

A will can also be challenged as invalid: for improper signing or witnessing, lack of capacity, or undue influence. Equally, the court can give effect to a document that misses the formal rules if it records the deceased's fixed and final intentions. A notice of dispute filed at the registry stops a grant from issuing, so anyone considering a challenge should get advice early.

We act for executors, for beneficiaries, and for spouses and children who have been left out. When a dispute goes to court, our litigation team runs the case; where it overlaps with a separation, see family law.