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…
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…
It is settled law in British Columbia that estate executors are entitled to remuneration for their work in administering an estate or executors fees. In fact, this was restated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Cowper-Smith v Morgan, a…
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…
In estate planning, trust accounts are a popular way to maximize the value of your estate, giving will-writers greater control over how and when their assets will be distributed. Our recent blog post on the use of trust accounts in…
In November 2020, BC's new Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA) came into force. The act creates new disclosure obligations for owners of real estate in the province, meaning that it has a very broad scope and will impact many. Continue…
In BC, there are strict rules that govern when a will can be deemed a valid will: it must be (1) in writing, (2) signed and (3) witnessed by two or more people. In some cases, invalid documents can be…
