The grant
The Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) gives estate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court alone. Provincial guidance lets an applicant choose any Supreme Court registry in the province for a grant, and documents can be filed through Court Services Online. The courthouse directory (updated October 1, 2026) lists Surrey’s courthouse as a Provincial Court; the Supreme Court registries nearest Surrey are New Westminster (651 Carnarvon Street, about 7.5 km by road from Surrey City Hall), Vancouver (800 Smithe Street) and Port Coquitlam. The notice of proposed application sent to the family names the registry, so choose it before the notices go out.
The wills search
Every probate application includes a certificate showing whether the deceased registered a wills notice. The search is ordered by mail from Vital Statistics in Victoria or in person at a Service BC counter, but the Surrey, Burnaby and Vancouver offices do not provide it. The province’s current office list shows Maple Ridge as the nearest Lower Mainland counter that is not excluded. A search costs $20 (plus $5 for each other name the deceased used); mailed results take up to 20 business days to print, while a $33 courier option prints the following business day. Order it as soon as you have the death certificate.
The land
On a death, land owned by the deceased alone passes to the personal representative, who holds it in trust for the people entitled to it (WESA s.162); land held in joint tenancy passes to the surviving owner. Either change is recorded at the Land Title and Survey Authority. Lawyers and notaries file electronically; the authority’s New Westminster office (Suite 500, 11 Eighth Street) takes paper applications by mail and sees the public by appointment.
Probate in outline
Part 25 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules sets the sequence for the executor (or, with no will or no willing executor, the administrator):
- Send the Form P1 notice of proposed application to the beneficiaries, anyone who would inherit without a will, other named executors and, where a beneficiary is a minor or lacks capacity, in some cases the Public Guardian and Trustee.
- Wait at least 21 days after delivery.
- File the application with the wills search certificate, the will and an affidavit of assets and liabilities, after a diligent search for the deceased’s property and debts (WESA s.122).
- Pay the probate fee. The Probate Fee Act exempts the first $25,000, then charges $6 per $1,000 or part of a $1,000 up to $50,000, and $14 per $1,000 or part beyond that: a $1,000,000 estate pays $13,450. Only property that passes through the estate is counted, so a jointly held home that goes to the survivor is not.
- After the grant, hold the estate for 210 days before distributing, except by court order or with the consents listed in WESA s.155. Distributing too early can expose the executor if a claim is filed.
Where there is no will, WESA sets the order of inheritance. A surviving spouse receives the household furnishings and a first share of $300,000 where all the deceased’s descendants are also the spouse’s ($150,000 where they are not), then half of what remains, with the other half going to the descendants. Our guides explain dying without a will in BC and applying to administer an estate without a will.
Veronica Manski leads our probate and estate administration group, which prepares grants of probate and administration and answers registry requisitions. See also whether probate is needed when there is a will and how probate fees are calculated.
What the executor’s job involves
Being named executor is an appointment, not an obligation, but once you start acting the duties are real. The province’s guidance lists them: find out what the deceased owned and owed and what each item is worth; identify the family and every beneficiary; take control of the property; collect money owed to the estate; settle proven debts; complete the deceased’s final tax filings (and the estate’s, if required); then sell what has to be sold, distribute, and prepare accounts for the beneficiaries or the court to approve. An executor who distributes while proven debts are unpaid can be held personally liable for them.
Not every asset needs a grant. Banks and other institutions apply their own policies and dollar limits and may release smaller amounts on the will alone, so ask each one what it requires. Land in the deceased’s sole name is the usual exception: expect the Land Title Office to ask for the grant before any transfer or sale. As a last resort the Public Guardian and Trustee may administer an estate nobody else will take on, unless the cost would outweigh the estate’s value.
Contesting a will, or defending one
- Wills variation (WESA ss.60 and 61). A spouse or a child the will fails to provide for adequately may ask the court to rewrite it. The deadline is tight: 180 days from the issue of the BC grant to file, then 30 more days to serve the executor (the court may extend the service period). Spouses include partners in a marriage-like relationship of at least two years, if they had not separated. See a spouse left out of a will, a child left out and the wills variation limitation period.
- Validity. Validity challenges allege that the will-maker lacked capacity, was unduly influenced, or did not sign and witness the will as WESA requires. Under WESA s.52, once a challenger shows the will-maker could have been dominated by the person who benefits, that person has to prove there was no undue influence; under s.58 the court can still give effect to a document that was not properly signed if it records the deceased’s intentions. Our pages on undue influence and capacity and whether a will or trust is valid go further.
- Stopping a grant. Someone who received, or should have received, the P1 notice may file a Form P29 notice of dispute before the grant. No grant can issue while it is in force, and it expires after one year unless the court renews it.
- The executor. WESA s.158 lets an interested person apply to remove an executor or pass over one; see challenging an executor.
All of this is Supreme Court work, so a Surrey dispute is tried away from Surrey, at the place named in the claim; New Westminster and Vancouver are the nearest. Deadlines for other estate claims vary with the claim, which is one more reason to take advice early. Our estate litigation practice is headed by Candace Cho, KC. Its clients include beneficiaries, spouses and children who were left out, and executors whose will is attacked.
If a spouse dies during a separation
Separation changes what a surviving partner can claim. Under WESA s.2, married spouses stop being spouses for estate purposes once they separate in the way that triggers a property claim under the Family Law Act, and a marriage-like relationship ends when either partner terminates it. A spouse who has separated in that sense can lose the share on an intestacy and the standing to bring a wills variation claim. Gifts in the deceased’s will to that spouse, and an appointment of the spouse as executor, are revoked by WESA s.56 unless the will shows a contrary intention.
The family law claim does not necessarily disappear. A Family Law Act claim to divide family property survives the death of a separated spouse. WESA s.150 lets a personal representative start or continue a proceeding the deceased could have brought, so the estate can claim against the survivor, or the survivor against the estate, as long as the two-year limit in s.198 of the Family Law Act has not run out. Where one partner dies while a family case or a negotiation is under way, the estate and the family claims need to be looked at together. Our article on whether a family law claim survives a spouse’s death explains the case law.
Planning your own estate
A will is half the plan. A power of attorney made to continue after incapacity lets a trusted person handle money and property, and a representation agreement deals with health and personal care. Without them, a family may need a court order appointing a committee. Registering a wills notice ($17) records where your original will is stored. The Surrey Service BC office will not accept the notice either, so file it online or by mail. Our estate planning work is led by Sandy Minh Abley, a lawyer since 2005.
Our estate lawyers
The firm dates from 2012, when Candace Cho, KC and Judith A. Janzen joined forces. Surrey estate files are handled by:
- Candace Cho, KC, principal lawyer, estate litigation practice leader
- Veronica Manski, associate counsel, probate and estate administration practice leader
- Sandy Minh Abley, estate planning
- Litigation associates Jackson Todd, Valerie LeBlanc, Katya Richardson, Kevin Campbell, Louisa Ledesma, TJ Garcha (who speaks Punjabi), Julia Pinnock and Jesse Patrao
Everyone else is listed on the team page. Separation and divorce questions go to our Surrey family lawyers.
Common questions
Can a Surrey estate be probated at the Surrey courthouse?
No. The Surrey courthouse is a Provincial Court. Apply at any Supreme Court registry, such as New Westminster or Vancouver, or file electronically.
Where do I order the wills search?
By mail from Vital Statistics, or in person at a Service BC counter other than the Surrey, Burnaby and Vancouver offices. Allow up to 20 business days by mail.
Do I have to take on the role of executor?
No. A named executor can renounce before acting, and someone else, such as another named executor or a family member, can then apply. Once you have started dealing with the estate, stepping away is harder, so decide early.
Is the first consultation free?
Yes for estate disputes: 30 minutes at no charge. Probate and planning enquiries are quoted at booking.
