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repealed.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.
