Over the past few years, the BC legislature has overhauled
British Columbia's laws regarding estate planning. In September
2011, the heavily revised Power of Attorney Act and
Representation Agreement Act became effective, providing
the province with modernized legislation for incapacity planning.
In the same vein, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act
("WESA") will revise British
Columbia's wills and estates legislation to bring it into the
21st century and will consolidate it under a single
statute.
WESA will be effective on March 31, 2014. On the same date, the
Wills Act, the Estate Administration Act, the
Wills Variation Act, and the Probate Recognition
Act will all be repealed. This newsletter will highlight some
of the major changes in WESA and, in particular, those changes that
could impact wills executed before WESA comes into force.
