That should make you think twice.
I lost my Father in April of 2003 and am the Executor of his Estate. I
didn't realize how much work it would be. I bought the Probate Guide for B.C.
which is published by Self-Counsel Press. The book leaves a lot to be desired
but does have most of the information you will need. The order in which the information
is presented and the lack of detail is my major criticism.
I will try to smooth out the steps in my own simple guide.
Keep a detail log of who you talk and their position at each company or institution you deal with. Record
the steps you have completed and the date they were completed on. This will
come in handy months down the road when the memory fades.
Do NOT close the deceases Bank account until the very end. Move all money coming in and out of the estate
through their account. Some institutions will only make cheques payable to the estate. I is easy to
deposit these cheques into the estate account and very hard to deposit them into your own. Close the
account only after all the property is distrubuted and the taxes are paid and you
have the Clearance Certificate from Revenue Canada.
Buy the
Probate Guide for B.C. by Self-Counsel Press.
Already got it - move to the next step.
It exists but can't find it - A Will Search (described below) will find it but only if it has been registered with Vital
Statistics. Most lawyer created Wills are registered. My Father's wasn't and it was written up with the help of a lawyer.
You know there isn't one - You'll need to apply to be appointed Administrator of the Estate. There are many extra steps
involved in that process. I was fortunate not have to go through them so I will not cover them in this guide. You will need
to pick up the
Probate Guide for B.C. by Self-Counsel Press.
In addition to the extra steps you will still need to do all the steps outlined on this page. Some of the forms may need to
be filled out differently. I do not cover that in this guide either.
Family
Friends
Neighbours
Place of Employment
Financial Institutions
Landlord
Funeral arrangement costs can be paid from the deceased's bank account. Just take the bill or receipt
to the deceased's Bank and they will arrange to pay the bill or reimburse you.
I used Personal Alternatives to care for my Father. They were very professional and inexpensive.
My Father did not want any ceremony or fuss made over him. The total bill came to $1032 and included the following:
- meeting with me at my selected location to make the arrangements
- the transportation and storage of my Father's remains
- doing all the required paperwork with the Coroners office
- the cremation
- supplying the Death Certificate
- delivering the ashes back to me
- the GST
Personal Alternatives 604-857-5779
The Funeral provider can provide the Death Certificate. They will offer to provide copies for
a charge. I declined the offer.
Once I had the Death Certificate and the Original Will I went to my fathers bank to inform them
of his death. They offered to provide 4 Certified Copies of the Death Certificate at no cost.
You will need a Certified copy of the Death Certificate for:
Each financial institution you expect to deal with.
Canada Post Mail Re-Direct
Many people can make certified copies for you. Those who can are listed in book. Ask friends.
Ask friends about getting this done for free or at a reduced cost. I was initially asked for
Notorized Wills but have yet to need one.
Do this sooner than later. Have it come to your home. It doesn't cost anything for a deceased person. You will
need to fill out a Statutory Declaration that Canada Post will supply. This certificate will need to be Notorized.
You will also need to attach a certified copy of the Death Certificate. As mail comes in you can inform the senders to
stop mailing you the stuff or have them mail it directly to your address.
As executor you are in charge of all property of the deceased. You will need to pay all bills.
These include:
Phone
Electric
Gas
Cable Vision
Alarm System
Property Tax
House Insurance
etc....
If the deceased had a Life Insurance Policy, RRSPs and/or RIFFs then they may have indicated a beneficiary. This
money can be claimed with just a certified copy of the Death Certificate. My Father's investment advisor
wanted a Letter of Instruction along with the Death Certificate. The letter simply stated that I was the
beneficiary and how I would like the money transferred. I included my chequing account info in the letter and the
money was directly deposited.
If the beneficiary indicated is "The Estate of" then you will need to get Probate before this money can be accessed.
Cancel Subscriptions
Cancel automatic payments coming from a Chequing Account since the Bank will close the account upon receiving notice of the death.
Forward all bills to come to your address instead.
This is a must do requirement for completing the Probate process. Even if you know there is no Will or you
have the latest Will in your hand and you saw it written just at hour before.
This page has information on how to do a Will Search by Mail, FAX, or on the Internet.
http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca/forms/index.html
This is the direct link to the form:
http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca/forms/vsa532.pdf
I then faxed it to 250-952-2182 with a cover page that included my:
Name
Address - For return of Will Search Results
Phone Number
Credit Card Number, Expiry Date and Name on Card
This is the fastest way to get it done and costs $35. I had it back in 10 days.
The CPP offers a death benefit of up to $2500 to anyone who has paid into the CPP. Your funeral provider should be
able to provide these forms to you.
The following is from http://www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/isp/cpp/surviv_e.shtml
You must complete an application. Application kits are available from any
Human Resources Canada Centre and many funeral homes. The kit contains the
information and instructions as well as a list of documents you will need to
apply. You may ask for a kit or assistance at any time by calling us free of
charge at 1 800 277-9914. If you have a hearing or speech impairment and you
use a TDD/TTY device please call 1 800 255-4786.
If there is any property to be transferred you should do a Land Title Search. This is to make sure there are no
mortgages or liens on the property.
This step is not required but I did it as a cover my butt exercise. You may skip this step if the estate is small and
you're confident that the deceased did not owe anyone money. Notifying creditors requires publishing a notice in newspapers.
You will need to publish the notice in the deceases local paper once a week for 4 weeks or twice a week for 2 weeks. You
will also need to publish the notice once in the BC Gazette.
Creditors have 21 days to contact you after the last publication date. The local paper (Delta Optimist) cost me $63 and the BC
Gazette cost me $43.
I will post the forms I created here as soon as I check out the legality of doing so. I copied some of them out of the
Probate Guide for B.C. by Self-Counsel Press.
They also offer a
Probate Forms for B.C. package as well. This package apparently contains all the forms you will need. I did not buy it.
To Come. Maybe
You'll need to sign all the papers in front of a Notary Public for a fee. You may also
decide to have the Notary look over the papers for any errors at an additional cost.
I had my papers signed on June 10, 2003. The Notary looked over my papers and corrected
a couple of glitches even thought I asked only for witnessing. It came to a grand total
of $20. I expected to pay at least $60. Bonus.
The
Probate Guide for B.C. by Self-Counsel Press
would have you believe that the people at the registrars office will be
your saviors. Don't believe it. I filed at the downtown Vancouver Supreme Court Registry.
First Visit
Start Rant
Got to the Probate desk and was the only one there except the guy being served. I
got to listen to the woman behind the desk and this guy chat. The topic was his
strategy for a lawsuit. The conversation had nothing to do with filing of any papers.
After 15 minutes of this the guy finally leaves and it's my turn. The woman seems
inconvienced by my being there. Tapping her fingers as I sign the last document.
It seems to me that my probate documents could have been blank and she still would
have said "We'll call you in about 3 weeks and let you know our decision".
End Rant
3 weeks later I receive message from Registry that Probate has been approved and I need to bring
$xxxx for the Probate "Fee".
Second Visit
Start Rant Again
Arrive at desk and no one waiting. Nice guy behind desk helps me right away. I
hand him my Bank Draft that cost me $6.50. He gets my file and looks at the fee
calculation. He tells me there is a problem with the Draft amount. I think to myself
that the fee will for sure be going up now. He then says that I was charged too much. Turns
out that the woman who did the calculation charged me $15 per thousand rather than
$14. Geezzzz. He calls her over and she recalculates. Her new calculation shows an overcharge of $363.
Then they tell me that they have no way of making change. I will need to get a new Bank
Draft. I'm upset now. The woman gives a tiny apology followed by "lucky we found that and saved you nearly $400".
Now I'm mad but I hold my tonge. Nothing I can do but go to the bank again.
Probably to cost me another $6.50.
End Rant
Leasson learned? Calculate what is owing yourself before you go. The book tells you how.
Third Visit
It's now the next day and I have the new Draft at $6.50 with what I hope is the correct
amount. Thought about saving $6.50 and taking cash but chickened out. Nice Probate
Registry man there again and takes my Draft. Says to call in about 5 days. What? No
papers now? No. They don't create the Papers until the fee is paid. OK. I'll call
in 5 days. Why the hell can't they create the paper's before I pay the fee? Do they
think I'm doing this for fun? They should charge me a non-refundable $100 fee on the
first visit to cover the cost of creating the papers.
Forth Visit
Walked up. Paid the $33 copying fee cash. Walked away. Total time: 3 min
All of them will want a Certified copy of the Probate Papers before giving you total control of the accounts.
This ususally means sending them to the Estate department of each institution. Turn around time varies from
1 week to 3 weeks.
Some institutions may also want forms filled out and Norarized before giving up control.
Investors Group is one of them that requires this extra hurdle and extra cost.
I did not need to provide Certified copies to the Royal Bank. I just took the Probate papers to a Royal Bank
branch (any branch will do) and they copied the papers. They then sent them off to their Estate department. Easy
and cheap for me except that they were closed on my first visit on Saturday.
Vital Statistics
