Wills Precedents: An Annotated Guide

This publication is essential for: all lawyers who draft wills in British Columbia.

Current to: December 1, 2012

Draft wills that your client can understand
Immensely popular since it was first published in 1998, this collection of sample will clauses and documents includes representation agreements and many other BC-focused precedents. Peter W. Bogardus, QC, and Mary B. Hamilton and Sadie L. Wetzel of Davis LLP have created a book of wills precedents that your clients can understand. The annotations and commentary explain the use of optional clauses and alert you to the relevant law.

The book includes precedents for wills, nominations of committee, powers of attorney, representation agreements, codicils, insurance declarations, and other documents. It also includes will instruction questionnaires and forms, sample letters, and clauses on disk. The book is updated regularly. Subscriptions include online access with search capability and links to the full text of case law and legislation, and clauses on CD-ROM.

NEW! A recently added feature to the book's online version is the document builder. This newest feature allows users to select desired clauses, create complete document templates, save the templates for future use, and download the complete document to the user's computer.

NEW! ONLINE ONLY annual subscriptions are now available. Click here to subscribe.

Highlights of the 2013 update

• chapters 2 (Definitions) and 4 (Guardians) and related chapters and precedents significantly revised for the Family Law Act
• chapters 5 and 26 and related chapters revised for the new Insurance Act that came into force on July 1, 2012
• chapters 6, 10A, 26, 42 and new chapter 45A introduce clauses and commentary for TFSAs
• chapters 10 (Articles) includes extensive new commentary
• chapter 15 expanded to include common trust provisions for children
• chapters 16 (Residue—Trusts) and 17 (Discretionary Trusts for the Disabled Beneficiary) include revisions to many precedent clauses
• new “failure of other trusts” provisions and commentary in chapter 18
• chapter 19 (Powers of Trustees) significantly expanded with many new precedent clauses
• chapter 28 (Enduring Powers of Attorney) significantly expanded with new precedent material and extensive new commentary
• chapters 30 and 32 (representation agreements) include many revisions to precedent clauses and new commentary
• chapters 34 to 38 (questionnaires and forms), and chapters 39 to 48 (letters and checklists) substantially revised and updated for current practice under the new incapacity laws, the new Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia, and other developments
• changes to many chapters reflect the pending WESA, including changing “testator” to “will-maker”
• the online version of Wills Precedents includes a “document builder” feature, which allows subscribers to select wills clauses (and enduring power of attorney clauses) with buttons, and then export the selected clauses to a word-processing program to create the first draft of a will or power of attorney
• new chapters 51 to 71 reproduce chapters 1 to 21, except that the clauses have been adjusted for a will that appoints multiple executors and trustees; chapters 51 to 71 appear only in the online and disk versions of this book, and are offered as a convenience when using the document builder in the online version, or the Microsoft Word and WordPerfect versions of the clauses on the disk that accompanies the book

CLEBC Legal Editor
Jonathan M. Vogt
jvogt@cle.bc.ca

Other Documents
22. Codicil
23. Revocation of Will
24. Memorandum of Articles
25. Insurance Declarations (Separate Documents)
26. RRSP/RRIF/TFSA Designations (Separate Documents)
27. Wills for First Nations Persons
28. Enduring Powers of Attorney
29. Nominations of Committee
30. Representation Agreement—Enhanced Powers for Health and Personal Care (s. 9)
31. Advance Directives for Health Care (Personal Declarations and Other Wishes)
32. Representation Agreement—General Powers (s. 7)
33. Division of Household Goods and Personal Effects

Questionnaires and Forms
34. Instruction Questionnaire for Wills and Estate Planning
35. Power of Attorney Questionnaire
36. Nomination of Committee Questionnaire
37. Representation Agreement Questionnaire
38. Internal Instruction Form for Wills and Estate Planning

Letters and Checklists
39. Retainer Letter
40. Letter to Clients Enclosing Original Documents for Execution
41. Instructions for Executing a Will
42. Report Letter
43. Will Reminder Form
44. Letter to Insurance Company
45. Letter to RRSP/RRIF Planholder
45A. Letter to TFSA Planholder
46. Reminder Letter
47. Reporting Checklist—After Execution
48. Checklist to Close a Will File

Sample Wills
49. Simple "Death Bed" Will
50. Sample Will
50A. British Columbia Will

Will Clauses for Multiple Executors and Trustees
Note: the following chapters appear only in the online version of the book. These chapters are identical to chapters 1 – 21, except that the clauses contemplate a will which appoints more than a single executor and trustee.

51. Introductory Clauses
52. Definitions
53. Executors
54. Guardians
55. Insurance Declarations (Within the Will)
56. RRSP/RRIF/TFSA Designations (Within the Will)
57. Administration
58. Debts
59. Real Estate
60. Articles
60A. Plans (RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, TFSAs, and Rewards)
61. Advances, Loans, and Forgiveness of Debt
62. Cash Gifts and Funds
63. Residue
64. Residue—Outright Gifts
65. Residue—Miscellaneous Preambles—Most Common Trust Provisions for Children
66. Residue—Trusts
67. Residue—Discretionary Trusts for Life for the Disabled Beneficiary
68. Residue—If All Else Fails
69. Powers of Trustees
70. Funeral Wishes
71. Execution

Features

• complete set of clauses on disk
• checklists
• regular updates
• tables of cases, statutes, and references
• comprehensive index  
• online access to electronic version with hyperlinks to primary law
• document builder

Authors
Peter W. Bogardus, QC — Halfmoon Bay 
Mary B. Hamilton — Davis LLP, Vancouver
Sadie L. Wetzel — Davis LLP, Vancouver