The Province’s courthouse directory (updated October 1, 2026) lists no court of any kind in the City or the Township of Langley, and neither does the Provincial Court’s list of its locations. The nearest courthouse, on 57 Avenue in Surrey, is a Provincial Court only.
That Provincial Court would have no part in an estate in any case. Under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), “court” means the Supreme Court, so probate, administration, variation claims and executor applications are all decided there. The Province’s guidance is that a grant can be applied for in any BC Supreme Court registry. Three are within about 30 km of Langley:
| Supreme Court registry | Address | By road from Langley City Hall area |
|---|
| Port Coquitlam Law Courts | Unit A, 2620 Mary Hill Road | about 24 km |
| New Westminster Law Courts | 651 Carnarvon Street | about 29 km |
| Abbotsford Law Courts | 32375 Veterans Way | about 29 km |
Road distances are free-flow estimates from the Douglas Crescent area of Langley City, measured October 26, 2026. From Aldergrove, Abbotsford is far closer.
Port Coquitlam has offered full Supreme Court registry services since June 9, 2025. In the court’s registry directory (June 2026), New Westminster lists a dedicated probate line (604-660-8522), while Port Coquitlam and Abbotsford show main and scheduling numbers only, so if you plan to file at one of those two, phone first and ask how it handles estate grants.
Pick the registry before anything goes out to the family. The notice of proposed application that every probate applicant must deliver (Form P1, under Supreme Court Civil Rule 25-2) states which registry the application will be filed in.
If the estate ends up in a trial
A wills variation claim is started as a lawsuit, and so can a challenge to a will’s validity. A notice of civil claim must state where the trial is proposed to take place (Supreme Court Civil Rule 3-1). The trial is held there unless the court orders otherwise (Rule 12-1). A Langley family can therefore propose whichever courthouse suits the witnesses. When older relatives or a family doctor will need to give evidence, that choice deserves thought at the start, not just before trial.
If you are the executor
Banks, investment firms and the land title office may refuse to deal with an executor, or with an administrator where there is no will, until the Supreme Court has issued a grant. The paperwork under Part 25 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules has a fixed order, and two Langley details affect the timing.
Start with the Vital Statistics search. Every application has to include a certificate showing whether the deceased filed a wills notice. Neither Langley has a Service BC office, and the Surrey office on 152nd Street is one of three that do not process wills searches, so a Langley executor sends the request by mail or takes it to a participating counter; on the Province’s list, Maple Ridge and Chilliwack are the nearest. The search costs $20 and the result can take up to 20 business days to print, with a faster courier option for an extra charge. Because nothing can be filed without it, order it in the first week.
Then the notice to the family. Form P1 goes to any co-executors, to each beneficiary, to anyone who would inherit on an intestacy and, in some cases, such as a minor or mentally incapable beneficiary, to the Public Guardian and Trustee. The registry cannot receive the application until 21 days have passed since delivery. Meanwhile the executor makes the diligent search for property and debts that WESA section 122 requires, since the affidavit of assets and liabilities is sworn on the results.
The fee is paid before the grant. Nothing is payable under the Probate Fee Act on an estate of $25,000 or less. Above that, the charge is $6 for each $1,000 (or part) of value from $25,000 to $50,000, and $14 for each $1,000 (or part) beyond $50,000. To give a sense of scale: if the only asset were a home worth the 2021 census median for owner-occupied dwellings in Langley City ($548,000), the fee would come to $7,122; at the Township’s median of $1,000,000 it would be $13,450. These are worked examples, not estimates for any estate. Property that passes by survivorship, such as a house held in joint tenancy, does not go through the estate and is not counted.
After the grant, a waiting period. Section 155 of WESA keeps the estate undistributed for 210 days after the grant, unless the court allows otherwise or the right people consent. Where there is a will, that means every beneficiary with an interest and every person entitled to bring a variation claim; on an intestacy, the heirs who share in the estate.
Veronica Manski leads our probate and estate administration group. We prepare grants of probate and administration, deal with requisitions from the registry and advise executors on accounting to beneficiaries. Our articles explain how long probate takes in BC, how probate fees are calculated and what happens when someone dies without a valid will.
Disputes: the clock starts with the grant
Several estate deadlines run from the day the grant issues, and one objection must be lodged before it issues at all.
Stopping the grant. A person who is owed the P1 notice, or who relies on an earlier or later will, can file a notice of dispute in Form P29. No grant can issue while it stands, and it expires after one year unless the court renews it.
Wills variation. Section 60 of WESA allows a will-maker’s spouse or children to ask the court to vary a will that does not make adequate provision for their proper maintenance and support; the court orders what it considers “adequate, just and equitable in the circumstances.” A partner counts as a spouse after two years in a marriage-like relationship, but only if the relationship still existed when the will-maker died. The time limit in section 61 is strict: the action has to be started within 180 days after the BC grant, with a copy served on the executor no later than 30 days after those 180 days run out (the court can extend the service period). If there are minor children, or a spouse or child lacks mental capacity, the Public Guardian and Trustee must be served as well. Our pages on a disinherited spouse and a disinherited child explain how judges weigh these claims.
Validity. The grounds are lack of capacity, a will that was not properly signed and witnessed, and undue influence. WESA section 52 helps a challenger who proves the other person held a position in which the potential for dependence or domination of the will-maker was present: the side upholding the gift then has to show that position was not used to unduly influence the will-maker. Section 58 can rescue a document that missed the formalities, if the court finds it records the deceased’s testamentary intentions.
The executor. Section 158 lets anyone with an interest in the estate ask the court to remove an executor or administrator, or to pass over someone who would otherwise be entitled to the grant.
Candace Cho, KC leads our estate litigation and dispute resolution practice. Time limits for other estate claims turn on the claim and the facts, so take advice early, and before the grant issues if you can.
Signing a will without the drive to New Westminster
Langley is close to 30 km each way from our nearest office, and for a will-maker in hospital or in care that can be the main obstacle to getting a will done. WESA now allows the signing to happen over video. Section 35.2 treats people as present together when they can see and hear each other at the same time, and lets the will-maker and witnesses sign complete, identical copies in counterpart. The ordinary rules still apply: two witnesses aged 19 or older, present at the same time, and no gift to a witness or a witness’s spouse unless a court saves it under section 43. A will can also be made and kept in electronic form.
A video signing is not right for everyone. Where a family member might later question the will-maker’s capacity or independence, an in-person meeting with the lawyer alone can make the will easier to defend. Ask us which approach fits when you book.
Planning your own estate
A will decides who inherits and who administers. Two other documents deal with the years before death. An enduring power of attorney lets someone you choose manage your finances and legal affairs, and it can continue when you become incapable. A representation agreement covers personal care and health care decisions. Without them, a family may need a Supreme Court committeeship order before anyone can act. The Public Guardian and Trustee, which may step in when no family member is appointed, has offices in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna; Vancouver is the one closest to Langley.
After signing, a $17 wills notice records with Vital Statistics where the original is stored; the agency never sees what the will says. Filing is online, by post, or at a participating Service BC counter (again, not Surrey’s, and Langley has none).
Sandy Minh Abley leads our estate planning work, including trusts. Our article on joint tenants and tenants in common covers how the way you hold your home affects what passes under the will.
The lawyers who handle Langley estate files
The firm’s two principals, Candace Cho, KC and Judith A. Janzen, have worked together since they joined forces in 2012. Langley estate files are handled by:
- Candace Cho, KC, principal lawyer and leader of the estates and trusts litigation practice
- Veronica Manski, associate counsel, leading probate and estate administration
- Sandy Minh Abley, associate counsel, leading estate planning
- Estate litigation: Jackson Todd, Valerie LeBlanc, Katya Richardson, Susan Kim, Kevin Campbell, Louisa Ledesma, TJ Garcha, Jesse Patrao and Julia Pinnock
