Executors and beneficiaries are often aware of the executor’s year – a common law principle stating that an executor has a year from the testator’s death to finish administering the estate and distribute its assets. During the executor’s year, beneficiaries…
We often hear from clients that are worried that a loved one’s estate is going to fall entirely in the government’s hands because the person hasn’t written a will yet. It should be known that it is extremely rare for…
Trust accounts are a common and useful estate planning tool – accounts where a third party holds an asset for the specific use of a beneficiary. Typically, the beneficiary is only able to withdraw funds (or other property) from the…
As a beneficiary of a will, it can be frustrating to sit helplessly waiting while the will’s executor fails to administer the estate as expected. Unfortunately, executors sometimes cause intentional delays, are incompetent in their administration, or even abuse their…
The executor of a will has a handful of responsibilities when administering an estate – including accounting for all estate assets, debts, and money exchanges coming into and out of the estate. When the executor is finished the administration process…
In British Columbia, there are three main requirements that must be met for a will to be considered legally valid. It must be in writing, be signed at the end by its writer, and this signature must be made in…
It is settled law in British Columbia that estate executors are entitled to remuneration for their work in administering an estate. In fact, this was restated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Cowper-Smith v Morgan, a case argued and…
Will-writing, estate planning, estate administration, probate, trust funds, inheritances – the list of things for will-writers to consider goes on and on. People are often deterred from starting their estate plan because they have no idea where to start and…
