Blog Posts

In Bhalla Estate, 2017 BCSC 1867, a testator who did not speak English and was unable to read or write in any language executed her will on July 21, 2008 with the assistance of a lawyer and an unidentified translator. She appointed one of her three children as the executrix and left the entire estate to […]

In, Re Hadley Estate, 2017 BCCA 311, the BC Court of Appeal had the first opportunity to judicially consider s. 58 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, S.B.C. 2009, c. 13. S. 58 of WESA allows the court to “cure” a record, document or marking on a will to make it fully effective as […]

Madam Justice Griffin of the BC Supreme court delivers a recent judgment regarding a contested will and marriage, reaffirming the differing legal tests for capacity to get married and make a will. In Devore-Thompson v. Poulain, 2017 BCSC 1289, an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s married in 2010 and left a will in 2009. The […]

Can you have more than one spouse under WESA? The short answer is yes. You can have more than one spouse under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act. In, Connor Estate (Re), 2017 BCSC 978, Mr. C applied for a declaration under s. 2 of WESA that he was the spouse of the deceased in […]

In Kyle Estate v. Kyle, 2017 BCSC 752, a son whose brother stole money from his dad’s estate was recently awarded over $450,000 in special costs against the offending brother. A father left significant gifts to 4 bothers and named the offending brother as the executor. Unfortunately, that brother transferred significant amounts of money from […]

British Columbia’s new wills regime, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) came into force on March 31, 2014 to revise and replace the outdated Estate Administration Act, Probate Recognition Act, Wills Act, and the Wills Variation Act. WESA is still brand new and many of its provision are still being interpreted for the first […]

Can a person sign a will on their deathbed and still meet the legal requirements for a valid deathbed will in BC? The decision in Re Bach Estate, 2017 BCSC 548, shows that the answer can be yes. In that case, the Supreme Court of British Columbia confirmed the validity of a simple, one-page will […]

Common questions that people have in British Columbia estate law include: “Is a draft will legal” or “binding” or “valid”? This article attempts to give some guidance on how to answer those questions. In British Columbia, for a will to be valid, it must meet the requirements found in Section 37 of the Wills, Estates […]

A recent court of appeal decision makes it clear that evidence of a full and complete gift (rather than resulting trust) does not necessarily mean a “deed of gift”. The recent court of appeal case regarding the McKendry Estate involved Mary McKendry (deceased), her 5 children (4 daughters 1 son), and the Vancouver property purchased by […]

In BC, the Family Law Act and Wills, Estates and Succession Act define the term spouse by reference to the term “separation”. Under WESA, section 2 provides that spouses cease to be spouses as follows: If they are married, on separation as it is considered under the FLA; or If they are living in a common […]

There’s nothing worse than dealing with a bad executor after the death of a loved one. They have all the control and as beneficiary you have all of the rights, or so you’re told. But what if they just won’t be reasonable? They say they’re going to tie up the estate up years. They are […]

Last year, the Associated Press released a three-part series on which jobs are being lost to new technology. Their research found that nearly all of the disappearing jobs are not low-paid, low-skilled positions, but rather reasonably-paid, traditionally middle-class professions including lawyers, loan officer and more. While jobless recovery and new technological advancements pose a more immediate […]

Outside of the traditional single testamentary dispositions are other types of wills. The terms “mutual wills”, “joint wills” and “mirror wills” are often used interchangeably to describe situations where people such as a husband and wife make a reciprocal, corresponding or identical wills that leave the estate to the surviving spouse with the remainder passing […]

Vancouver family lawyers know that British Columbia parents must pay child support. Child support is the right of the child, not the parent. What if a parent dies? Does the parent continue to owe child support after they are dead? In McLeod v. McLeod, 2013 BCCA 552, the BC Court of Appeal dealt with this […]

Blended or step families are becoming the new norm in Vancouver, British Columbia, and all over Canada. There are many reasons people move on to a new spouse or partner. Sometimes it is because they are widowed or widower and are looking to begin a new relationship, and sometimes they realize after having children that […]

Your estate includes everything you own: tangible, intangible, real, personal and even digital. Often, when estate planning, people forget about the intangible and digital. Examples of digital property you might own includes domain registrations, online or digital bank accounts and financial accounts, file-sharing accounts, social networking accounts, digital pictures, videos, music, books and email accounts. […]

The death of a parent or spouse is painful; finding out you have been disinherited can be traumatic. Across Canada, sons, daughters and spouses are left out of wills for causes that may seem more appropriate to soap operas than the real world. Sometimes, it is just poor estate planning. In most provinces and states, […]

British Columbia wills variation lawyers have pause to remember one of the great warriors of the past. One of the seminal decisions for the unique British Columbia statutory provision giving the court authority to change a will is the now 83-year-old Supreme Court of Canada Contested Will Claim Walker v. McDermott [1931] SCR 94. This […]

Can my teenager make a will and can I wills variation it? Section 36 of the new Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) says that a person who is 16 years old and mentally capable of doing so can make a will. A 16 year old making a valid will is new in British Columbia […]

Recently in Easingwood v. CRockroft, 2013 BCCA 182, the honourable Madam Justice Saunders of the British Columbia Court of Appeal considered the legalities arising when an attorney under a power of attorney creates an alter ego trust on behalf of a principal. For a better understanding of alter ego trusts, please click here. The case […]