No, not in British Columbia. You must use a Representation Agreement appointing who you want to act, which should be accompanied with a Health Care Directive addressing what you want them to do. Spending some time with dks Legal & Notary Services can protect the future of your loved ones.

We offer a complimentary 30-minute consultation to first-time clients (excluding notarizations). During this consultation, you will discuss your needs with one of our team members. Our team has a breadth of experience and expertise, and during the initial consultation, we can refer you to the team member best suited to your needs. Please submit your questions and preferred consultation time through our Contact page.

You will be asked to provide two pieces of identification, one of which must be government-issued such as a Driver’s Licence, BC Identification, Passport or Permanent Resident Card. It is critical that the names must match on the identification AND your documents. Please call 604-531-2611 prior to your appointment if this is not the case. Note: a combined Drivers’ Licence and Medical card only count as one piece of identification.

A notarized document is a document that has been certified by a notary public or lawyer. The Notary Public is an official who verifies the identities of everybody signing the document, witnesses the signatures, and marks the document with a stamp (or “seal”) and their signature.  You may be required to see the services of a Notary Public to give legal effect to your documentation. In British Columbia, Lawyers are also Notary Publics.

dks Legal & Notary Services offers walk-in notarization service, Monday to Friday at varied times . Please call ahead.

Your Last Will and Testament essentially allows you to speak after you have passed away. It has no effect while you are alive, but as soon as you die your Will serves two key purposes: it allows you to make key appointments (such as naming an executor) and it allows you to describe how you would like the assets passing through your Estate to be distributed. Not all of your assets may pass through your Will – it depends on how you own the assets or whether you have designated beneficiaries to certain types of assets.

Making a Will is an important responsibility of each adult, not just those with “enough” assets. Even if you do not have significant assets, having a Will can help make the process easier for your loved ones. You should particularly have a Will if you have minor children and wish to appoint a guardian for your children.

If you die without a Will then you have died intestate. Someone may have to apply to the court to be named an “Administrator” for your Estate. An Administrator is like an Executor but has not been appointed by you in your Will. There is a legislative scheme for how your assets are to be distributed to your next of kin.

You should review your Will on a regular basis to ensure that it still says what you want it to say. You should particularly review after major life events, such as marriage, having children, or the death of an executor or beneficiary.

You appoint an Executor in your Will. It is strongly recommended that you appoint alternate(s) in case the first person that you named is unable to act as executor. You can also appoint more than one Executor to act together.
The Executor is the person who you entrust to carry out your instructions in your Will. Their duties include such things as finding your will, arranging your funeral, gathering and securing your assets, paying your debts, income tax and other expenses, arrange for Probate (if needed), and distributing your assets according to the terms of the Will.

If someone was to contest the Will or file a claim against the Estate, the Executor would act as a defendant in this action. If you choose a family member or friend, you should ensure that they are trustworthy, can handle paperwork and can work with the beneficiaries. Often a Will allows the executor to hire professional help and pay for that out of the Estate. You can also hire a professional to do this job, but that professional will charge a fee for this service.

While it is not mandatory to register a Will, in some cases it is highly advisable.

To register a Will, a “Wills Notice” form is filed with the BC Vital Statistics Agency. This form contains information regarding the date the Will was made, and the location of the Will. Vital Statistics Agency does NOT keep a copy of the Will. If the Will needs to be Probated, then the Executor does a “Wills Search” with the Vital Statistics Agency. The results of the Wills search will give a list of all the Wills notices registered with the Vital Statistics Agency, including locations and dates of those Wills.

The fees for filing a Wills notice and for doing a Wills search are listed on the BC Wills Registry page. The Probate court is ensuring that there is no record of a late Will than the Will being submitted for Probate.

When someone dies without a Will, or if there is a Will but no Executor is able to act, then an Administrator needs to be appointed. An Administrator has the same role as an Executor but is not appointed by a Will. The Administrator could be a family member, a Beneficiary, or a third party such as a lawyer (I provide that service as well) or trust company.

The Administrator is appointed by the court through a process very similar to the Probate process (see “What is the Probate process?” below).

Not all wills are subject to Probate. Probate is a court process that validates the will and gives the Executor legal authority to deal with the Estate. An institution (such as the Land Title Office or a financial institution) would ask for a will to be Probated.

1. Do a search to find the original last known will and testament and verify that you are the Executor of the will. Only the Executor named in the will can carry out the instructions of the deceased will-maker. Check places such as safety deposit box, a safe at home or even the freezer.
2. Check with the BC Vital Statistics Agency, which will prepare a Certificate of Wills Search that lists all known wills, with the date and registered location. The court will be checking to see if the will being submitted for Probate is the last known will.
3. Notify the Beneficiaries named in the Will and the intestate Beneficiaries of the Executor’s intention to apply for a grant of Probate. A copy of the Will is also sent to these individuals or charities. An intestate Beneficiary is one who would have inherited had the deceased died without a will. There is legislation that outlines the scheme of inheritance if the deceased did not have a will or if the Will does not dispose of the entire Estate.
4. There are a variety of prescribed forms and affidavits that need to be sworn. These, along with the Certificate of Wills Search and the original will, are submitted to the BC Supreme Court. The affidavits including listing the assets of the deceased that are passing through the will. A filing fee will need to be paid.
5. The court will review the documents and request any additional information or schedule a hearing for any issues that need to be litigated. Once everything is finalized, Probate fees are paid and the court will issue a Grant of Letters Probate naming the legal executor. Relatives of the deceased have six months from the date the grant is issued to submit any claims or objections to the will. The court keeps the original will and issues a copy attached to the Probate grant.

A similar process is involved if the deceased died without a will and an institution asks for Letters of Administration, except there is no will to be submitted to court.