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Help With Probate
A probate lawyer from Westcoast Wills & Estates can ease the burden on executors and estate administrators.
Events
Our wills lawyers routinely give public presentations about wills, trusts, estate planning, probate and estate administration. We also appear at community events throughout the year to raise awareness about the importance of estate planning.
Wills
Creating wills is an essential part of the estate planning process, but all too many people mistake it for being the only step.
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.
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.
There are two main differences between notary drafted wills and wills done by an estate planning lawyer:
Trusts: Notaries are forbidden by law from drafting anything but a simplest trust in wills (paying out to a beneficiary up to the age of 25). Estate planning lawyers can draft any kind trust in a will, which are called “testamentary trusts“.
Expertise: Estate planning lawyers are devoted to practicing in the area of wills and estates only – with that comes a lot of education, experience and expertise. Our wills lawyers in particular, frequently bounce ideas off of each other to find the best solution for our clients. Sometimes most valuable is that our wills lawyers constantly take courses about other areas of law that may intersect with estate planning, such as in probate law, family law, insurance, financial planning, creditor law, business law and tax law, so we can either provide clients with relevant advice or refer them to someone who can. Most notaries tend to be generalists, doing some real estate transfers, some wills, and some document notarization.
BC Probate Fee Calculator
Use our simple BC probate fee calculator resource to see the probate fee that will likely be charged by the Court on an estate, and gain more insights into how probate fee works. If you are an executor who would like the advice of a probate lawyer, contact us – we’d be glad to help.
Try the CalculatorWhy Get a Will?
Creating wills is an essential part of the estate planning process, but all too many people mistake it for being the only step. A will helps reduce or even eliminate disputes that can arise among members of your family relating to the distribution of your assets in the unfortunate event of your death. A wills and trusts lawyer will take your instructions, provide professional advice and draft a comprehensive will that incorporates all of your wishes and includes appropriate trusts, while minimizing taxes payable by your estate.
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Estate planning wisdom
Our wills lawyers help build a comprehensive estate plan. Find out more below.
Wills
Creating wills is an essential part of the estate planning process, but all too many people mistake it for being the only step.
Trusts
The wills and trust lawyers at Westcoast Wills can guide you through the complex world of trusts in an easy to understand way.
Representation Agreement
A representation agreement allows someone you choose to make personal and health care decisions for you if you have lost the capacity to do so yourself.
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document where you authorize someone else to act on your behalf in regards to your financial affairs.
Committeeship
Our committeeship lawyers can apply to court on your behalf for an appointment of committee of estate. This is most often needed when a person becomes incapacitated and they have not already given a power of attorney over their finances to someone else.
Alter Ego Trusts and Joint Partner Trusts
Our trust lawyers can help you create an alter ego trust or a joint partner trust. Independent advice is also provided by a tax lawyer as part of the cost to ensure that the trust is the most tax efficient and beneficial to you. You should get tax advice before setting up and alter ego trust or a joint partner trust, as there are often tax consequences.
Why Get a Will?
This is our resource on why you should get a will in BC. You should always seek legal advice to ensure you make the right decision.
Probate lawyer wisdom
Our probate lawyers around Vancouver routinely help executors with estates.
Help With Probate
A probate lawyer from Westcoast Wills & Estates can ease the burden on executors and estate administrators.
BC Probate Fee Calculator
Use our BC probate fee calculator below to see how much probate fee will be charged by Court.
Probate Law FAQs
Being an executor is a hard, thankless job. What’s worse is that executors can be sued personally if…
Family lawyer wisdom
Our family lawyer helps compliment your estate plan when spousal issues arise.
Uncontested Divorce Lawyer
Our divorce lawyer in Vancouver helps couples move on with their lives after separation by applying to court for an uncontested divorce.
Separation Agreement
Our separation agreement lawyer in Vancouver can help you get your affairs properly documented and finalized in a separation from your spouse.
Prenuptial Lawyer
A prenup lawyer in Vancouver at Westcoast Wills can help you and your partner with what is commonly called a prenup or prenuptial agreement.
Corporate lawyer wisdom
We know that your business is central to your estate plan. That’s why we have corporate lawyers to put your estate plan to work for you.
Incorporating a New Company
The corporate lawyers at Westcoast Wills & Estates can help you in incorporating a new company. We can advise if a company makes sense for you.
Corporate Reorganizations
The business lawyers at Westcoast Wills can guide you through a corporate reorganization in an easy to understand way.
Corporate Minute Books
Our corporate lawyers can help maintain your company’s corporate minute book and deal with the corporate registry, so that you can continue to focus on the success of your business.
Get a Free Quote
Our estate planning lawyers speak English, Cantonese, and Vietnamese, and offer flexible appointment times to fit your schedule. We’re just a phone call away.
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