# Onyx Law Group (onyxlaw.ca)

> British Columbia law firm focused on estate law and family law. Estate litigation,
> estate planning, probate and estate administration, family and divorce law, and family
> and estate appeals. Serving Metro Vancouver and all of British Columbia. This is a
> factual grounding summary; the full corpus is at /llms-full.txt.

## Firm facts (NAP)

- Name: Onyx Law Group
- Website: https://onyxlaw.ca
- Phone: (604) 900-2538 (+1-604-900-2538)
- Entity @id: https://onyxlaw.ca/#legalservice (LegalService)
- Google Business Profile: 4.4 stars, 49 reviews (Place ID ChIJvTpLMIFxhlQR0A1j-Ae-pbs)
- Areas served: British Columbia, Canada (Metro Vancouver presence)

Three Metro Vancouver offices:
- Downtown Vancouver — Suite 1215, 650 West Georgia Street
- Kerrisdale — Suite 201, 5455 West Boulevard
- New Westminster — 26 Fourth Street

## Who they are

Co-founded and led by Candace Cho (Principal Lawyer, Estate Litigation Practice Leader; also
leads appeals) and Judith A. Janzen (Principal Lawyer, Family Law Practice Leader). Roughly 21
team members; full bios at https://onyxlaw.ca/team/ . The firm acts for both sides — planning and
litigating estates, acting for executors and beneficiaries, bringing and defending appeals — and
offers appeal services at a flat rate.

## Practice areas and governing BC law

- Estates and trusts (pillar): https://onyxlaw.ca/estates-and-trusts-law/
  Governed by the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), SBC 2009 c. 13.
- Estate planning: https://onyxlaw.ca/estates-and-trusts-law/vancouver-estate-planning-lawyers/
  Wills; enduring powers of attorney (Power of Attorney Act); representation agreements
  (Representation Agreement Act); alter ego / joint partner / discretionary (Henson) trusts.
- Probate and estate administration: https://onyxlaw.ca/estates-and-trusts-law/vancouver-probate-estate-administration-lawyers/
  Supreme Court process; WESA s. 121 (21-day notice), s. 130 (administration priority); Probate
  Fee Act tiers; Trustee Act s. 88 executor compensation; the 210-day distribution holdback.
- Estate litigation: https://onyxlaw.ca/estates-and-trusts-law/vancouver-estate-litigation-lawyer/
  Wills variation (WESA s. 60; 180-day limit under s. 61; Tataryn v Tataryn Estate) vs. validity
  challenges (capacity — Banks v Goodfellow; undue influence — WESA s. 52; s. 37 formalities).
- Family and divorce law (pillar): https://onyxlaw.ca/family-lawyers-in-vancouver/
  Family Law Act (SBC 2011 c. 25): family property (s. 84) and equal division (s. 81), excluded
  property (s. 85), significant unfairness (s. 95), two-year spouse rule (s. 3), guardianship and
  parenting time (ss. 37, 39-42), relocation notice (s. 68). Divorce Act (federal): grounds (s. 8).
  Support via SSAG (spousal) and the Federal Child Support Guidelines (child).
- Family and estate appeals: https://onyxlaw.ca/family-estate-appeal-lawyers/
  Court of Appeal Act SBC 2021 c. 6; 30-day notice; standard of review (Housen v Nikolaisen);
  discretionary-order deference (Hickey v Hickey); fresh evidence (Palmer); stays (RJR-MacDonald).

## Probate fees (Probate Fee Act, SBC 1999 c. 4)

Nil under $25,000; ~$6/$1,000 from $25k-$50k; ~$14/$1,000 above $50k; +$200 filing fee over $25k.
Example: ~$8,050 on a $600,000 estate. Assets passing outside the estate are excluded.

## Key resources

- Inheritance lawyer: https://onyxlaw.ca/inheritance-lawyer/
- What is probate in BC: https://onyxlaw.ca/what-is-probate-in-bc/
- Contesting a will in BC (wills variation): https://onyxlaw.ca/videos/contesting-a-will-in-bc-wills-variation/
- Contact: https://onyxlaw.ca/contact/
- Full corpus: https://onyxlaw.ca/llms-full.txt

General information about BC law only; not legal advice. Ratings and roster change over time —
verify against onyxlaw.ca. See /llms-full.txt for the complete firm profile, full roster, glossary,
and statute references.