British Columbia law has specific rules for estates that cross borders. They apply across the province and matter most to families with roots in more than one country.
A will signed in another country
Under section 80 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), a will is formally valid in BC, and can be admitted to probate, if it was made in accordance with the law of any one of several places: where it was signed, where the will-maker was domiciled or ordinarily resident, a country of which the will-maker was a citizen (in each case either when the will was made or at death), or where the will-maker’s property is located. So a will prepared and signed abroad is not automatically a problem here. If it falls short of every one of those tests, section 140 allows the court to make a section 58 curing order for any will that can be the subject of a BC probate application, so a document that represents the deceased’s testamentary intentions may still be given effect.
Bank accounts and investments abroad
The BC probate fee is calculated on the deceased’s real and tangible property situated in BC and, if the deceased was ordinarily resident in BC immediately before death, on intangible property wherever situated that passes to the executor. For a Coquitlam resident, that can bring a bank account or investment portfolio held in another country into the BC fee calculation and the sworn statement of assets. Land outside BC is not in that definition; it is generally dealt with under the law and procedure of the place where it is located, which needs advice there.
A parent who lived abroad and owned property here
Where the deceased lived outside BC and the estate has already been granted by a foreign court, the foreign executor does not always start over. WESA section 138 allows a grant from another Canadian province or territory, or from a jurisdiction prescribed by regulation, to be resealed by the BC court so that it has the same effect here. If the grant cannot be resealed, the court can make an ancillary grant. A foreign executor can also appoint an attorney under a power of attorney to apply for a grant limited to the BC assets (section 139). Where the deceased was neither domiciled nor ordinarily resident in BC and the property abroad is being administered there, the application can use a non-domiciled affidavit of assets (Form P11).
Beneficiaries who live outside Canada
Notice of a probate application still has to go to every beneficiary and intestate successor, wherever they live.
Susan Kim, associate counsel, practises family law, wills and estates and estate litigation, and speaks Korean. According to her bio, most of her clients have family property and businesses in more than one jurisdiction, including Canada, Korea, India, the Philippines and China, and she works with the conflict-of-laws questions that follow.
Where a Coquitlam estate file goes
Coquitlam has no courthouse of its own. The closest is next door: the Port Coquitlam Law Courts on Mary Hill Road, roughly 4 km from City Hall, where the Provincial Court and the Supreme Court sit in the same building. The New Westminster Law Courts at 651 Carnarvon Street are about 16 km away.
Estate matters under WESA are heard in the Supreme Court. Provincial guidance says an applicant may file for probate or administration at any Supreme Court registry in BC, so the deceased’s Coquitlam address does not by itself decide where the papers go; confirm the registry before the notices are sent. Since June 9, 2025, Port Coquitlam has run a full Supreme Court registry, and a notice of civil claim may name Port Coquitlam as the place of trial, subject to the court’s power to change it. The Supreme Court’s published registry directory still lists a dedicated probate line only at New Westminster, so if you plan to file probate papers at Port Coquitlam, it is worth confirming with that registry (604-927-2100) how it is handling them.
Probate, step by step
An executor named in a will usually needs a grant of probate before banks, investment firms or the Land Title Office will deal with the estate. Part 25 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules sets out the order:
- Order a wills notice search from Vital Statistics. The application needs two copies of the certificate it produces.
- Deliver a notice of proposed application (Form P1) to the other executors, the beneficiaries and the people who would inherit without a will. Where one of them is a minor, the Public Guardian and Trustee also receives notice.
- Wait at least 21 days after delivering the notice before applying.
- File the application with the will, the wills search certificate, an affidavit of assets and liabilities and any translations.
- Pay the probate fee. There is no fee on an estate worth $25,000 or less. Above that, the fee is $6 for every $1,000 or part of $1,000 between $25,000 and $50,000, plus $14 for every $1,000 or part of $1,000 above $50,000.
Getting the grant is not the end of the waiting. WESA section 155 bars distribution for 210 days after the grant unless a court orders otherwise. In a will estate, the executor can distribute sooner only if all beneficiaries who have an interest, and all persons who could start a wills variation proceeding, consent.
Disputes over a will or an estate
Wills variation
A spouse or child who has not been adequately provided for can ask the court, under WESA section 60, to vary the will so that it makes provision that is “adequate, just and equitable in the circumstances.” Section 61 sets a short window. The court will not hear the claim unless it is commenced within 180 days of the BC grant, and a copy of the pleading has to reach the executor no more than 30 days after those 180 days run out, unless the court extends the time for service. Under section 2, an unmarried partner counts as a spouse after at least two years of living together in a marriage-like relationship, and the test is applied immediately before the death. Spousal status can end on separation, for married and unmarried couples alike, so that point can decide a claim where the couple had split up before the death. More detail: how the 180-day limit runs, and claims by a spouse left out of a will or a child left out of a will.
Challenges to validity
The main grounds are that the will-maker lacked mental capacity, that the signing and witnessing rules were not followed, or that someone exerted undue influence. On undue influence, section 52 moves the burden in one situation: if the challenger establishes the other person “was in a position where the potential for dependence or domination of the will-maker was present”, it falls to the party defending the will to show the position was not used that way. The tests are explained on our pages about capacity and undue influence and whether a will or trust is valid.
Executors who are not doing the job
Section 158 lets a person with an interest in the estate ask the court to remove an executor, or to pass over someone who would otherwise have the right to act. Such applications can follow long delays, a refusal to show the accounts, or an executor who is also a competing claimant. Read more on contesting an executor in BC.
Planning your own estate
If you own property in another country, tell your lawyer at the start. A will made in BC may not be the most practical document for land elsewhere, and where a person has more than one will, each has to be drafted so that it does not revoke the other. These are questions to settle with advice in both places.
Once your will is signed, you can register its location by filing a wills notice with Vital Statistics, which records where the will is kept but not what it says. The fee is $17. Vital Statistics takes it online or by mail, and in person at Service BC counters, though not at the Vancouver, Burnaby or Surrey offices. There is no Service BC office in the Tri-Cities, so for Coquitlam residents the nearest listed counter that accepts wills notices is in Maple Ridge, and filing online avoids the trip.
Sandy Minh Abley leads our estate planning practice. She was called to the BC bar in 2005 and is a Certified Financial Planner.
Our estate lawyers
The firm’s lead lawyers, Candace Cho, KC and Judith A. Janzen, joined forces in 2012, and its work is estate and family law. The lawyers below handle estate files:
- Candace Cho, KC: principal lawyer, leads the estate litigation practice; called 2009.
- Veronica Manski: associate counsel, leads probate and estate administration; called 2015.
- Sandy Minh Abley: estate planning; called 2005; speaks Vietnamese.
- Susan Kim: family law, wills and estates, estate litigation; called 2000; speaks Korean.
- Estate litigation: Jackson Todd, Valerie LeBlanc, Katya Richardson (conversational Spanish), Kevin Campbell (French), Louisa Ledesma (Tagalog, conversational Mandarin), TJ Garcha (Punjabi), Jesse Patrao and Julia Pinnock.
Full profiles are on our team page. Clients in Port Moody and the rest of the Tri-Cities are served from the same New Westminster office. If the matter is a separation or divorce, our Coquitlam family law page is the better starting point.
Common questions
My father’s will was signed in another country. Can it be probated in BC?
It can be, if it passes one of the tests in WESA section 80. WESA treats a will as formally valid if it meets the law of the place where it was signed, the will-maker’s domicile, residence or citizenship, or the place where the property is. A will not in English must be filed with a translator’s affidavit.
Does the BC probate fee apply to money held in a bank abroad?
If the deceased was ordinarily resident in BC, intangible property such as bank accounts and investments counts wherever it is held, so long as it passes to the executor. Land outside BC does not count toward the BC fee.
My mother lived overseas but owned a condo in Coquitlam. Who deals with it?
Her executor may be able to have a foreign grant resealed in BC, or apply for an ancillary grant, or appoint an attorney to apply for a grant limited to the BC property. Which route is open depends on where the original grant was made.
What does the first consultation cost?
For estate litigation, including will disputes and wills variation claims, the first half hour is free, by phone, on video or in person. For a probate application or a new will, raise the consultation fee when you call. Reach us at (604) 900-2538 or through the contact page.
