Wills

Ensuring that you have an up to date Will is one of the most important things you can do. A Will helps to ensure that your assets are given to those whom you choose, rather than letting the Government decide. For example, if a long term resident of British Columbia having only assets in British Columbia died leaving a spouse and two children but without a valid Will, the Estate Administration Act of British Columbia provides:

• If the net value of the person's estate is not greater than $65 000, the estate goes to the spouse;

• If the net value of the person's estate is greater than $65 000, the spouse is entitled to the first $65 000 of it plus an additional 1/3 of the residue (it would be 1/2 if there were only one child) and the remainder goes to the two children equally.

If is more complicated if a child has predeceased the deceased leaving children and even move complicated if the deceased had previous common law spouse or spouse by marriage or children from a previous relationship.

Even in the unlikely event that you would be content for your estate to be divided as provided above, having, a valid Will can significantly reduce the costs of administration of, and income taxes payable by, your estate. The administration of an estate is complicated enough when there is a valid Will (see the Estates section of our website), but is significantly more complicated if there isn't one. If you don’t have a Will, you need one, and, if you haven’t updated your Will in the last few years, you should do so.  

We have created an Information Package and Microsoft Word Forms which streamline the process of gathering information necessary to prepare a Will and reduce preparation time and costs. If you would like to receive the Information Package and Forms, please:

• email us: bm@mulhollandlawoffices.com and we will email them to you, or

• contact us and we will provide a copy to you on disk or in paper form, as you request.

Note that in order to use the Information Package and the Forms on your computer, you must have Microsoft Word. If you don't, please request them in paper form.

Once we receive your completed Forms, we will advise you of the estimated preparation costs and timing.

If it isn’t convenient for your to meet with us to execute your Will, we can forward it to you in electronic form, with simple instructions for its proper execution.

Mulholland Law Offices

Business Law, Trusts, Wills & Estates - Leading with Technology