Married, divorced or soon-to-be-married British Columbia residents beginning to undertake their estate planning might be wondering how the province’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act defines a “spouse” for the sake of estate planning. As it turns out, in keeping with similar B.C. statutes addressing spousal relationships, a person may be granted spouse status without necessarily […]
A simple will is the foundation of many individual estate plans in British Columbia, and a number of people rely on wills to ensure that their last wishes are honoured and that their property is distributed properly on death. Often, though, people must update or alter their wills to reflect changes in attitude or life […]
Before an individual in British Columbia passes on, he or she may create a will and designate one person to administer the estate. In some cases, an alternate administrator or executor may be named in case anything happens to the first person. When a person is named as an administrator or executor, he or she […]
Residents in British Columbia may benefit from understanding more about how power of attorney is handled in the province. Power of attorney can be described as documentation that appoints another person, referred to as an attorney, authority over making legal or financial decisions concerning someone’s assets or business interests. The most recent Power of Attorney […]
When a person dies in British Columbia without leaving a will, the person is said to be intestate and their estate is handled in accordance with the Wills, Estates and Succession Act. According to the act, the entire estate goes to a spouse when there are no descendants. If the individual had a spouse and […]
Even though estate planning is important, many residents of British Columbia make a number of errors around it. Here are a few of the most costly ones. One error is failing to keep a will updated. Individuals sometimes make a will but forget to alter it in case of divorce, births, deaths or changes of […]
It may be difficult for some readers to think about and plan for end-of-life issues, and it can be tempting to put off estate planning and will preparation. The Wills, Estates and Succession Act recently passed in British Columbia outlines how a person’s estate will be handled in probate in the event that there is […]
Residents of British Columbia may create wills in order to distribute their assets to the correct beneficiaries upon death. A will can be changed after its creation until its testator’s death. However, wills also have certain limitations of which individuals should be aware when creating them. For example, wills do not cover provisions regarding the […]
Although many celebrities have been making a big deal about why they are choosing not to leave a trust fund to their kids, some British Columbians may want to consider it. Even if a person does not have a multi-million dollar fortune, setting up a modest trust fund could help to protect the inheritor from […]
Some residents of British Columbia who might be creating an estate plan may be interested to learn about the enduring powers of attorney. These allow a person to appoint another party to act on his or her behalf while completing certain functions, and this appointment differs from a regular power of attorney because the authority […]