A will is a document that states what you want done with the assets that you own when you die. These assets typically consist of real estate, money, investments, and personal or household belongings that you own. You can change your will at any time and it has no legal effect until you die.

A will generally doesn’t cover assets that you don’t own at your death. For example, a joint bank account or a house owned in joint tenancy has a “right of survivorship” and will be owned by the joint survivor when you die. Also, a will does not apply to assets like life insurance, RRSPs, RRIFs and TFSAs, where you have already designated a beneficiary.

A will is a document that directs who will receive your property at your death and it appoints a legal representative to carry out your wishes. By contrast, a trust can be used to begin distributing property before death, at death or afterwards. A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person (or an institution, such as a bank or law firm), called a “trustee,” holds legal title to property for another person, called a “beneficiary.”

A trust usually has two types of beneficiaries – one set that receives income from the trust during their lives and another set that receives whatever is left over after the first set of beneficiaries dies.

Estate plans have the added benefit of giving an individual the opportunity to transfer assets to beneficiaries outside of a will, without tax and other cost consequences

In a will, you appoint a person or company to be the “executor” to carry out the terms of your will. The executor is responsible for:

1. Safeguarding the estate
2. Gathering up your assets
3. Paying your debts (including income taxes)
4. Dividing what remains of your estate among the “beneficiaries” (the people named in your will to receive a share of your estate)

Choose an executor you trust and who will likely still be alive when you die. He or she may be a trusted family member or friend; it helps if he or she is also a good book keeper and communicator. Most important, the person must be willing to take on the duties of executor.

You can appoint more than one executor who can act together as co-executors. You should also appoint an alternate executor if the first executor isn’t able to act. If you have a complex estate or investments or need someone to take over the operation of a company, you should name a professional executor who may be a lawyer, accountant or other professional. Trust companies also accept executor appointments if the estate is big enough.

A guardian is a person who looks after and is legally responsible for someone who is unable to manage their own affairs. If you have minor children, you will need to appoint a guardian in your will.

It’s especially important that you name a guardian if you’re a single parent. For separated parents, it’s best to reach an agreement on the choice of a guardian if one or both of you die. Where that’s not possible, it’s important to consider the parenting responsibilities you have (through either a court order or separation agreement) and ensure that you include those responsibilities as part of the guardian appointment in your will.

Although your choice of guardian is important, the court doesn’t have to follow your wishes and may appoint a different guardian if this would be in the child’s best interests. And the court will consider the wishes of any child 12 or older. You should therefore check with an older child about their wishes before deciding on the appointment of the guardian in your will.

A guardian generally doesn’t have any rights to look after a minor child’s property – the guardian can only receive and hold a minor child’s property or money if it’s worth less than $10,000. You should therefore appoint a trustee to manage a minor child’s inheritance.

When there’s no will, your net estate is distributed to your next of kin according to rules in BC’s statutes.

For a death before March 31, 2014, the rules in Part 10 of the Estate Administration Act apply. If you die after March 31, 2014, the rules in Part 3 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act apply.

When someone dies without a valid will, they are said to have died “intestate”. In such cases, the Probate Court must appoint someone to act as administrator of the estate (rather than the executor). The Court makes this appointment when someone qualified to act in this capacity makes an application to the Court. Usually this would be a member of the family, or if there is none, a close friend of the deceased. The administrator may then apply for the letters of administration in the same way as for letters probate. The fees payable are the same as the fee schedule for the letters probate.

The role of the administrator is similar to that of an executor named in a will. The administrator collects all money due to the estate and pays the debts. Once the debts are paid, including income tax, the administrator must sell the assets of the estate and distribute the proceeds in accordance with the Devolution of Estates Act.

In cases where a person dies in the province and leaves property and there is no one available to administer the estate, the Court may appoint a Public Trustee. Once appointed, the Public Trustee will administer the estate. This can happen with or without an existing will.

A will is a complex legal document. To make an effective will requires a good understanding of property ownership rules and the law about wills. There are rules and formalities that must be followed, no matter how simple the will, otherwise the will may not be valid. Language used must be clear and unambiguous. If the formalities are ignored or the terms of the will are unclear, there will be extra legal costs taken from your estate to get court orders to fix the problems, and the court may not be able to remedy all problems.

If your will doesn’t properly provide for your spouse or children, they can make a claim to have your will varied or changed by the BC Supreme Court. Until March 31, 2014, this claim is made under the Wills Variation Act. After March 31, 2014, the claim is made under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act. A “spouse” under both statutes includes both a married spouse and a person with whom you have lived in a marriage-like relationship for two years before your death.

The case law is clear that you have both a legal and moral obligation to provide for a spouse or child in your will. So if you’re thinking of disinheriting a spouse or child (even a self-sufficient adult child), or leaving them less in your will than they might reasonably expect, be sure to consult with a lawyer about the situation before finalizing your will.

Disinheritance is the act of intentionally removing the inheritance of a wife, child or closest relative from a will. Usually this is done by a provision in a will or codicil (amendment) to a will which states that a specific person is not to take anything on account of an individual’s death. It is not enough to merely ignore or not mention a child in a will since he/she may become a “pretermitted heir” (a child apparently forgotten).