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British Columbia Probate & Estate Administration Practice Manual

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Manage your probate and estate matters with confidence

This publication is essential for: practitioners who do estate administration or estate litigation work.

If you work in estate administration, you know there is a high potential for error. Reduce the risk with British Columbia Probate & Estate Practice Manual, which takes you step-by step through handling probate and estate matters in BC. This longstanding manual is the answer to all your probate and estate administration questions, from initial contact with a personal representative to post-grant issues. This manual also covers difficult tax and conflict of laws issues, as well as potential areas for estate litigation.

With this resource, you will be able to:

  • confidently advise personal representatives on how to successfully administer an estate
  • prepare for and make probate and estate administration applications
  • better avoid and handle contentious areas during the estate administration process

Read a sample from the book

Features and Highlights

Highlights of the 2026 Update include:

  • all chapters, forms and precedents, checklists, and other features of the manual have been brought current to March 1, 2026, including new and updated case law and discussion
  • added cautionary guidance for counsel when advising a personal representative regarding a deceased’s spousal status
  • expanded discussion of the appropriateness of filing a notice of dispute in cases where co-executors are expected to be unable to work together
  • additional discussion of what threshold is sufficient to indicate the testamentary intention of a will-maker
  • new and expanded commentary regarding current practice at various British Columbia court registries, particularly with respect to filing Probate forms
  • additions to the suggested language to be used in forms and precedents related to estate administration

Contributors

Editorial Board 

Dwight Dee — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver
Aubrie Girou — Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP, Vancouver
Michelle L. Isaak — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
Genevieve N. Taylor — Legacy Tax & Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Geoffrey W. White, KC — Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation, Kelowna – Counsel, Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver

Authors

Jeffrey Bichard — Scion Law LLP, Vancouver
Catherine Bunio — Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP, Vancouver
Gillian Crouch — Gillian Crouch Law, Vancouver
Dwight Dee — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver
Andrea E. Frisby — Farris LLP, Vancouver
Peter J. Glowacki — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Suzanne H. Grant — Swift Datoo Law Corporation, Courtenay
Michelle L. Isaak — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
M. Scott Kerwin — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Nancy King — MNP LLP, Surrey
Roger D. Lee — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
Susan Lin — Legacy Tax & Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Sharon A. MacMillan — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver
Kate S. Marples — KPMG Law LLP, Vancouver
Louise McLeod — Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver
Peter Mennie — Legacy Tax & Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Braeden J. Rahn — Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation, Kelowna
James Rhodes — Ramsay Lampman Rhodes, Nanaimo
Isabel L. Romeral — Farris LLP, Vancouver
Betony Rowland — Legacy Tax & Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Rose Shawlee — Boughton Law, Vancouver
Genevieve N. Taylor — Legacy Tax & Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Mark S. Weintraub, KC — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
Geoffrey W. White, KC — Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation, Kelowna – Counsel, Clark Wilson LLP
Susan A. Willis — Indigenous Services Canada, Vancouver

Table of Contents

Chapters

Volume 1

1. Initial Advice for the Personal Representative

2. Devolution of Assets on Death

3. Pre-application Matters in Estate Grants

4. Proceedings Relating to Estate Grants

5. Applications for Probate or Administration with Will Annexed

6. Applications for Administration without Will Annexed

7. Probate Fees

8. Bringing a Foreign Grant into British Columbia

9. Applications and Disputes in the Course of Administration: The Executor’s Perspective

10. Transmission and Transfer of Assets in Estate Administration

11. Liabilities in Estate Administration

Volume 2

12.  Taxation of the Deceased and Estates: An Overview

13. Taxation of Estates and Testamentary Trusts

14. Special Tax Issues in Estate Administration

15. Accounts in Estate Administration

16. Remuneration of Personal Representatives and Trustees

17. Remuneration of Lawyers in Estate Administration

18. Estates Under the Indian Act

19. Conflict of Laws in Estate Administration

Forms and Precedents

Checklists

Tables
Case Table
Statutes and Related Material Table
Index

Buy Now

Amy“I am an estate and trust litigator. When faced with a new or less than common issue, particularly in administration or planning, my starting point is always CLEBC’s wills, estates and trusts publications (especially the online versions).

British Columbia Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation along with British Columbia Probate & Estate Administration Practice Manual provide me with current and practical answers, Annotated Estates Practice is an easy way to stay up to date on new cases, and Wills and Personal Planning Precedents embodies best practice standards for drafting.

I can’t say enough about how valuable the wills, estates and trusts resources available through CLEBC truly are.”

~ Amy A. Mortimore, KC, Clark Wilson LLP