Why Choose Us
Flat Fees
95% of our clients are charged predictable flat rates.
Specialization
We focus only on estate planning, probate, tax and corporate law.
Respected
With awards won and hundreds of 5-star reviews, we’re well known for our top-quality advice and friendly service.
Charitable
We donate 1% of all revenue to charity.
Our Legal Services
We offer unparalleled service and are committed to providing each client with the personal attention that they need. Contact us for a free quote on any of our services.
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Estate Planning
Services include wills, trusts, powers of attorney, representation agreements, and obtaining a committeeship order.
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Estate Disputes
Contesting a will? Disinherited? Defending a will? Our estate lawyers can prepare you for what to expect.
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Corporate Lawyers in Vancouver
Our corporate lawyers provide advice and support with all of the steps in the life of your company.
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Tax Lawyers in Vancouver
Our tax lawyers in Vancouver provide sage advice to save you money on taxes. Company restructurings and tax disputes.
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Family Law Agreements
Our family lawyers help you protect your assets through cohabitation agreements and marriage agreements.
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See our complete range of legal services, available in three languages.
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ABout Us
Wills and Probate Lawyers with a Difference
With ten wills and probate lawyers, our law firm is unique. We offer flexible meeting times including weekdays and evenings to accommodate your busy schedule, and personal, focused, professional advice that is caring and comprehensive. Our rates are highly competitive, and we conduct our business as responsibly and sustainably as possible.
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Probate Law FAQs
These are just some of the most common questions our firm gets about probate law.
Explore All Probate Law FAQsProbate means to “prove.” In the case of wills, it refers to the process of proving to the court that a will is legally valid as the last will and disclosing all of the assets in the estate. Oftentimes people loosely use the word “probate” to refer to the much broader process of estate administration though – only a part of which is applying for probate from the court. Estate administration ranges from arranging the funeral, preparing the probate application, filing taxes, paying other debts, distributing the estate, and dozens of steps in between.
Probate is handled by the Supreme Court of BC. The Vancouver Probate Registry currently has a roughly two month delay between the time an application is received and the time that they approve the application. In recent years, that delay has been as much as six months and as short as two weeks. Other court registries have different delay times, but dealing with a registry out of town has its own challenges. See here for a map of the different Supreme Court probate registries throughout the province: https://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court/court_locations_and_contacts.aspx
Commonly, estates take anywhere from eight months to two years to wrap up. Frustratingly, a lot of this time is spent waiting for court processing times and tax clearance certificates. Estates with complex assets or disputes can take much longer to administer. Westcoast Wills helps executors navigate the system in the most time and cost-efficient manner.
Simply speaking, the probate fee is a tax charged by the court to approve a will, or in the case of an intestate’s estate, approve the administrator of the estate. In BC, the fee is currently roughly 1.4% of all the assets passing through the estate. We have a probate fee calculator here to help you approximate what the probate fee will be.
Wills FAQs
Our highly experienced legal team often hears these questions about wills and estate planning in BC.
Explore All Estate Planning FAQsA will is a document where you say who gets your assets when you die. A will can also name successor guardians for minor children and your preferences for funeral, burial or cremation. An estate planning lawyer in Vancouver can help you prepare a will.
A will is a basic document that everyone should have because it says what happens with your assets after you die.
Firstly, choose a lawyer who specializes in wills and possibly one other area of law. The phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none” definitely applies to law, as there are way too many intricacies with every area of law to keep on top of all of them. Wills law is routinely the area of practice with most negligence claims against lawyers because all to many lawyers (who do not focus on this area) do not appreciate the subtle complexities in estate planning.
Secondly, many law firm websites have a review section from previous clients. There are also independent review websites, such as Yelp, Google and Facebook. Westcoast Wills is proud to have so many happy clients and you can see our Google reviews and Facebook reviews.
When someone dies without a will in BC, their estate is said to be intestate. In BC, the distribution of an intestate estate is determined by the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA). Here’s a general outline of how the distribution works:
Spouse or common-law partner: If the deceased person had a spouse or common-law partner but no children, that person is generally entitled to the entire estate.
Spouse or common-law partner and children: If the deceased person had a spouse or partner and children, generally, the spouse or partner receives a preferential share of the estate (currently set at $300,000), and the remainder is divided between the spouse or partner and the children. There are variations of this in the law, resulting in different distribution schemes for different circumstance. A probate lawyer in Vancouver can help you determine exactly where the estate will go.
Children but no spouse or common-law partner: If the deceased person had children but no spouse or partner, the estate is divided equally among the children.
No spouse, partner, or children: the laws dictate that the deceased’s estate will generally pass to the deceased person’s next of kin, using parentelic distribution, with some exceptions.
If no eligible relatives can be found, the estate is transferred to the provincial government.
In cases where there is no will, it is generally advisable to seek legal advice from a wills lawyer to understand the specific implications and process involved in administering the estate according to the intestacy laws in BC. An estate planning lawyer from Westcoast Wills & Estates can provide guidance and assistance in navigating the probate process.
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Our estate planning lawyers speak English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi and Hindi, and offer flexible appointment times to fit your schedule. We’re just a phone call away.
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