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What Happens If an Executor Refuses to Act in BC?

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Estates & trusts

What Happens If an Executor Refuses to Act in BC?

Onyx Law Group · Vancouver, British Columbia

A named executor can step aside by signing a formal renunciation, as long as they haven’t started acting as executor. The family then looks for someone else to administer the estate, either a willing relative or friend or a trust company.

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Full transcript

What if the named executor refuses to act or doesn’t want the job? It’s not uncommon for someone to want to renunciate and it could be because they are not feeling well or they are not capable of handling a very complex estate. So if someone does not want to be an executor they should not intermingle in anything and they should not be acting like an executor and if they have not acted like an executor they may renunciate and sign a formal renunciation. And now the family will look for an administrator to administer the will. They can look in their own circle to see who would like to take on that responsibility and if there is no one to take on that responsibility they can research trust companies who are willing to take the work on.

General information, not legal advice.

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Onyx Law Group represents clients in family law throughout British Columbia, estate and trust litigation, estate planning and probate matters. Consult with our 17 BC lawyers · 190 combined years at the bar (2026)Candace Cho, KCCalled 2009 · 17 yrsJudith A. JanzenCalled 2000 · 26 yrsSandy Minh AbleyCalled 2005 · 21 yrsVeronica ManskiCalled 2015 · 11 yrsSusan KimCalled 2000 · 26 yrsRupinder ShokerCalled 2011 · 15 yrsJackson ToddCalled 2014 · 12 yrsValerie LeBlancCalled 2011 · 15 yrsKatya RichardsonCalled 2018 · 8 yrsRasjovan DaleCalled 2018 · 8 yrsMason HellerCalled 2019 · 7 yrsKevin CampbellCalled 2019 · 7 yrsShivleen SidhuCalled 2019 · 7 yrsTJ GarchaCalled 2022 · 4 yrsJesse PatraoCalled 2023 · 3 yrsLouisa LedesmaCalled 2024 · 2 yrsJulia PinnockCalled 2025 · 1 yrSee our full team at
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