“Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” – Ambrose Bierce

Estate Dispute

When a Will is prepared, the vast majority of the time it is done so with kindness and careful consideration. Unfortunately, some Wills may deal with an estate in a manner that is unfair, or may be perceived to be unfair, to those persons that the deceased may legally owe obligations to. This may have been done intentionally, or accidentally. Despite the reasons and often the best of intentions, the mix of family dynamics and money can often result in an estate dispute.

If you are faced with any of the challenges noted below, or any other dispute over an estate, our team would be pleased to discuss it with you. These situations arise at difficult times, however, early legal advice is always recommended.

Applications under the Wills, Estates & Succession Act (BC)

We can assist with all aspects of filing and defending against applications to the Supreme Court of British Columbia by a spouse or a child of a deceased person to vary the terms of the deceased’s Will under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act. Such applications can be made by any married or common law spouse or any natural or legally adopted child of a deceased person if they have been disinherited or feel they have not been adequately provided for in the Will.

Joint Tenancy Disputes

We can assist with resolving disputes over assets held in joint tenancy, which normally arise when it is unclear if the assets were intended to be a gift to the surviving joint tenant or intended to form part of the estate of the joint tenant who has passed away.  If an asset is held in joint tenancy between a parent and their adult child and the parent has not signed a document confirming a gift or indicated in some other way that the asset was intended to be a gift, the asset will be presumed to be part of the parent’s estate if the parent passes away.  We can help resolve disputes arising over this presumption.

Disputes Over the Administration of Estates When the Deceased did not Leave a Will

We also handle all disputes arising over the administration of Estates when the deceased did not leave a valid Will, including disputes over who should become the administrator of the estate, disputes over the compensation of the administrator and estate accounting disputes.

Disputes Relating to the Validity of a Will

We can help with all types of disputes relating to the validity of a Will, which usually arise due to allegations that the deceased was not mentally competent when the Will was created or that the deceased was unduly influenced by another person in preparing the Will.