Does a Will have to be registered in BC?

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.