Will I Be Notified If I’m Removed From a Will in BC?

Question

If your name is listed to receive all or a portion of an estate on a will that has been filed by a lawyer will you be notified if your name is removed from the will?

Answered by Cassady Law LLP

Answer

There is no mandatory wills registry in BC. This means that lawyers (or others) that are drafting wills are not required to register or file them anywhere, although it is best practice to register them with the Wills Registry. The Wills Registry does not store a copy of the will, it stores a Wills Notice. The Wills Notice only contains information such as the will-maker's name and date of birth, the date the will was signed, and where the original will is kept. If a new will is made, the will-maker can file a new Wills Notice showing the new will's date and location. However, there is no notification to beneficiaries if they have been added or removed and no copy of the will itself.

Wills are private documents while the will-maker is alive. It is a fundamental right of a will-makers to change their minds about how they would like their estate to be distributed as many times as they want prior to their death. As a result, it would be inappropriate for any potential beneficiaries to be notified of any changes to a Last Will until the will-maker is dead.

After the will-maker dies, one of the first steps that a proposed executor or administrator must take is to search for the deceased’s will. The deceased's will could be registered at the Wills Registry (most common where the deceased person has used a lawyer or notary), it could be found with the deceased person’s important papers, or with court approval, it could be a less formal note about the distribution of the deceased's estate that they jot down on a piece of paper.

Perhaps some consolation to potential beneficiaries, under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, before any steps can be taken by a proposed executor or administrator to administer an estate, that person must notify all “interested parties”. An "interested party" includes anyone who would have received a portion of the estate had the person died intestate including spouses and children of the Deceased, or if the Deceased had no spouses or children, the next of kin of the Deceased.

Disclaimer: This section provides general legal information only and is not legal advice. Reading this does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Outcomes and laws depend on the facts and your location. If you need legal advice for your specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction. Please do not submit confidential or time-sensitive information.