Probate & Estates

Contact our office or use the contact form and we will arrange a time. Tell us whether there is a Will and roughly what the estate includes, so we can prepare. If a consultation fee applies to your matter, we will tell you before you book. We can arrange the appointment in person at our Surrey office or by other means if you live outside the area.

For a usual uncontested application we quote a fixed legal fee for obtaining the Grant. Court fees, the government probate fee and other third-party costs are separate and paid at actual cost. Work after the Grant, such as selling assets or distributing the estate, is quoted separately. Starting fees are available on request.

No. A grant is usually needed when the person owned assets in their own name, such as a home or bank accounts, and the institution holding them asks for one. Assets that pass to a surviving joint owner or a named beneficiary often do not need it. Contact our office and we will tell you whether yours does.

For an uncontested application, obtaining the Grant typically takes three to six months, and sometimes longer. The time depends on how complete your documents are and on the court’s processing times. We cannot control the court’s timing, but we keep you updated at each stage until the Grant is issued.

A Grant of Probate is issued when the person left a valid Will naming an executor. A Grant of Administration is issued when there is no Will, or when the executor named cannot or will not act. Both come from the BC Supreme Court and give the person appointed authority to deal with the estate’s assets.

Yes. Selling assets, distributing the estate and preparing estate accounts are separate from obtaining the Grant and are quoted separately. Contact our office for an estimate once the Grant is issued, or sooner if you want to plan ahead. Many executors manage some of these steps themselves, and we can help with the rest.