Category: Wills and Estate Litigation
Often times parties to a contract have a less than clear understanding of many of the principles of contractual law.
WESA sets out certain “formal requirements” for a will to be considered valid.
In matters of mental capacity, the evidence of doctors is often conclusive. It is not often that the opinion of a lawyer about mental capacity trumps that of a doctor, and rightly so, since doctors applying scientific diagnostic criteria and experience have the expertise to properly answer questions about mental capacity. However, in some situations, a Court may prefer non-expert evidence of capacity to the extent it is focused on a particular issue, supported by outside evidence, and benefits from a particular legal test for mental capacity.
In British Columbia, a deceased’s will must be submitted for probate in order for the executor of the estate to properly deal with and transfer certain assets of the estate. Probate fees become payable once the estate is probated. One strategy that is available in some circumstances to reduce the probate fees payable is the use of multiple wills.
A recently released decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court may have brought some clarity to a thorny issue faced by many estate planners: Is it possible for a person to divest themselves of all their assets prior to death if the effect of doing so is to disinherit a spouse or child?
What happens if you are appointed Executor?
If you have been appointed Executor in a Will there are a wide range of obligations and responsibilities that you must fulfill. However, if you do not wish to act as the Executor, you may decline to do so by renouncing your Executorship and signing the appropriate documents so that the Alternate Executor may act or so that some other person may apply for Letters of Administration.
What do Executor duties include?
“If a man dies and leaves his estate in an uncertain condition, the lawyers become his heirs.”
- Edgar Watson Howe -
One of the wisest things that a person can do for his or her family is to prepare a Will. A well-prepared Will, will provide clear instructions to an Executor to administer and ultimately distribute the testator’s Estate. But having a Will does not mean that there will never be a dispute about the Will. Hopefully we will give you