This month – Thursday, February 2nd
8am Cascade Community Centre in Abbotsford
The New Will and Estates Act
Andrea E. Frisby
Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers
Andrea focuses on assisting clients with estate and trust planning and administration. She prepares wills, trust documents, powers of attorney and representation agreements for clients. She also provides legal opinions and advice to clients on estate and trust administration.
Andrea was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2008, after clerking at the British Columbia Supreme Court. Andrea has a broad legal background, having practiced in estate and insolvency litigation, employment and administrative law, prior to turning her focus to planning.
British Columbia’s new Wills, Estates and Succession Act received Royal Assent on October 29, 2009. This new Act is a comprehensive statute designed to modernize and streamline the making of Wills and the administering of estates in British Columbia. Changes will include:
Introducing a simplified procedure for administering small estates;
Using the term “will-maker” instead of “testator”;
Incorporating succession law concepts currently found only in case law (such as those that apply to adopted children);
Granting the court the power to rectify a Will in certain situations, to ensure that a will-maker’s last wishes are respected; and
Abolishing the presumption that a gift given by the will-maker during his/her lifetime to a child is an advancement of a gift in the will – instead, such a gift would take effect according to its terms.
The new Act is expected to come into force sometime in 2011, which will allow time for the public and legal community to review and prepare for the new legislation.
