Salmon Arm Law Courts, at 550 2nd Avenue NE, holds both the Provincial Court and the Supreme Court, according to the Province’s courthouse list (revised October 1, 2026). Estate matters belong to the Supreme Court side. The court’s own registry directory (June 2026) adds two details a Shuswap executor may notice. Filings for the Revelstoke registry are directed to the Salmon Arm courthouse, and Salmon Arm’s Supreme Court scheduling line is the same number listed for Kamloops, so hearing dates for Salmon Arm files are arranged through that office.
You are not obliged to use Salmon Arm. The Province says an application for a grant of probate or administration may be made in any BC Supreme Court registry. What a local registry offers is convenience: a counter you can reach for filings, and a place to propose for a hearing or trial if the estate ends up in a dispute.
The other public office an executor needs is Service BC at 850A 16 Street NE. It takes in-person applications for a search of wills notices, which every probate application must include, and it accepts new wills notices from people who have made a will. Salmon Arm is not one of the three offices that refuse these services (Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey).
Before you accept the job
Being named in a will does not oblige you to act. Section 104 of WESA lets a named executor renounce the appointment; unless the court orders otherwise, the renunciation ends that person’s executorship and the estate is administered as if they had never been named. The renunciation is filed in the probate proceeding on Form P17. If several executors are named and one renounces or does not join the application, section 148 allows the others to deal with the estate as validly as if all had acted.
Decide early. Once you start dealing with the estate’s property, stepping aside becomes harder, and you may already be answerable for what you did. Questions worth answering first: how much time the estate will need, whether any family member is likely to object, and whether you are also a beneficiary whose interests might pull against the estate’s. A short conversation with a lawyer before you take your first step costs less than unwinding a wrong one.
After the grant: administering the estate
The grant of probate is not the end of an executor’s work; in time and effort it is closer to the halfway mark. It gives you the authority the deceased would have had over the estate (section 142 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, or WESA), and with it a duty to administer the estate, distribute it, and account to the beneficiaries and creditors.
| Stage | What the law requires or allows | Where it comes from |
|---|
| Grant issues | You can now deal with banks, land titles and other holders of estate property | WESA s.142 |
| Creditors | You may publish a notice in the BC Gazette giving creditors at least 30 days to send in claims; after that you may distribute having regard only to the claims you know about | WESA s.154 |
| First 210 days | No distribution without a court order, or the consent of every beneficiary and everyone who could bring a wills variation claim | WESA s.155 |
| Within 180 days | Any wills variation lawsuit must be started; keep enough back to meet a claim until it is resolved | WESA s.61 |
| Accounts | Prepare accounts of what came in, what was paid and what is left; the beneficiaries approve them, or the court passes them | WESA s.142; Supreme Court Civil Rule 25-13 |
| Your fee | Up to 5% of the gross aggregate value of the estate (capital and income), as a fair and reasonable allowance | Trustee Act s.88 |
| Final distribution | Pay out according to the will, or the WESA intestacy rules if there was none | WESA ss.20 to 23 |
Accounts the beneficiaries will accept
Keep every bank statement, invoice and receipt from the date of death, and record each transaction as it happens. Accounts prepared months later from memory invite questions. When the work is done, send the beneficiaries the accounts with a proposed distribution and a release. If everyone signs, the estate can close without a court application.
If someone will not sign, Supreme Court Civil Rule 25-13 lets either the executor or a person interested in the estate apply for the accounts to be passed. The court can decide any question about the accounts or the executor’s fee itself, or send them to the registrar for an inquiry and report. A passing of accounts is not an accusation. It can also protect an executor who has done the job properly and wants a final answer.
The executor’s fee
Section 88 of the Trustee Act lets the court, or a registrar if the court directs, allow an executor a fair and reasonable fee of no more than 5% of the gross aggregate value of the estate, including capital and income. Five percent is a ceiling. What is fair depends on the size and complexity of the estate, the time and skill involved, and the results. Where the executor manages assets for some time, the court may also allow an annual care and management fee of up to 0.4% of the average market value of the assets. A will can set its own compensation, and a beneficiary who thinks a claimed fee is too high can ask the court to fix it.
Distributing too early
Paying out before the 210 days pass, or while a claim is pending, can leave the executor personally responsible if money is needed later. The 210 days are the minimum. If a wills variation lawsuit is filed, hold back what the claim could affect until it is settled or the court allows a distribution.
Our probate and estate administration lawyers, led by Veronica Manski, prepare grants of probate and administration and stay with executors through accounts and distribution. The probate checklist lists what to gather before the application.
When a beneficiary or relative objects
Some objections are about the executor; others are about the will.
- An executor who will not account or move the estate forward: a beneficiary can ask the court to order accounts under Rule 25-13 and, in a serious case, to remove or pass over the executor under WESA section 158. Read more about challenging an executor.
- A spouse or child left without adequate provision: WESA section 60 lets them ask the court to vary the will to make the provision it finds “adequate, just and equitable in the circumstances”. The action must be started within 180 days after the grant (section 61). See disinherited child and disinherited spouse.
- Doubts about the will itself: capacity, undue influence and the signing formalities are covered on our pages about will disputes and undue influence and lack of capacity.
- Gifts made in the last years of life, or years of unpaid help: these can lead to claims about contesting a gift or unjust enrichment, and each turns on its own evidence.
If a will’s validity is challenged, the court can appoint an administrator to look after the estate while the case is decided; that administrator may not distribute it (section 103). Before a grant has been issued, a person entitled to notice can file a notice of dispute (Form P29) under Rule 25-10, which stops a grant from being issued for up to a year unless it is renewed. If a lawsuit follows, the notice of civil claim names a proposed place of trial; Salmon Arm can be proposed, and the court can change it. Candace Cho, KC leads our estate litigation practice.
Powers of attorney and representation agreements
Planning for incapacity keeps decisions in the hands of people you chose, rather than leaving your family to apply to court.
An enduring power of attorney covers money and property and can continue after you lose capacity. Under the Power of Attorney Act it must be signed in front of two witnesses, or one if the witness is a lawyer or a notary public, and the people you appoint, and their spouses, children and parents, cannot act as witnesses. Your attorney must also sign before using it. If the attorney will deal with land, the document must meet the Land Title Act requirements as well.
A representation agreement covers personal and health care. A section 7 agreement can also cover routine financial matters such as paying bills and depositing a pension; a section 9 agreement gives a representative wider authority over personal and health care, including where you live.
Without these documents, a family may have to apply to the Supreme Court for a committeeship, or the Public Guardian and Trustee may become involved through its Interior-North office in Kelowna. A will completes the plan. Once it is signed, a $17 wills notice filed at the Service BC office on 16 Street NE, or online or by mail, records where your executor can find it. Sandy Minh Abley leads our estate planning work, including wills and trusts.
Salmon Arm estate questions
Do I have to file the probate application in Salmon Arm?
No. Any BC Supreme Court registry can receive it. The Salmon Arm registry is simply the closest one to the city.
How much can an executor charge?
The Trustee Act caps the fee at 5% of the gross aggregate value of the estate, and the amount must be fair and reasonable. Beneficiaries can agree to it, or the court can fix it.
The executor has sent accounts but I do not agree with them. What now?
Ask in writing for the records behind the figures. If the disagreement remains, either side can apply under Rule 25-13 for the court to pass the accounts.
Can a Revelstoke estate be dealt with in Salmon Arm?
The Supreme Court directory sends Revelstoke filings to the Salmon Arm courthouse. Probate can also be sought at any other registry, and the court can be asked to hold a hearing elsewhere.
Does an executor have to advertise for creditors?
WESA does not require it, but section 154 allows a notice in the BC Gazette. Once the notice period of at least 30 days has run, the executor may distribute having regard only to the claims then known, which reduces the risk of a late claim.
Can I refuse to be the executor?
Yes. A named executor may renounce under WESA section 104, ideally before dealing with any estate property. Someone else, such as an alternate executor or a beneficiary, can then apply.
Is the first meeting free?
For estate litigation matters, the first 30 minutes are free. Ask about terms for probate and planning work when you book.
