If a family member or friend dies leaving an estate in British Columbia having made a will, their executor will apply to the court for a grant of probate to deal with his or her estate.

If there is no will, provincial law determines who is entitled to apply to the court for a grant of administration to deal with the estate.

A grant of probate of a will or of administration of an estate in British Columbia are two of the four types of grants made under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act of this province which are known as representation grants.

The other two types of representation grants are the resealing in British Columbia of a grant of probate of a will or a grant of administration or other document purporting to be of the same nature issued by a court outside British Columbia known as a foreign grant or an ancillary grant of probate being a grant made in aid of a foreign grant of probate or administration which does not qualify for resealing. The personal representative to whom a foreign grant has been made is known as a foreign legal representative.

The effect of a representation grant is to give the executor , administrator or foreign legal representative exclusive authority to administer the estate or that part of the estate to which the representation grant applies according to its terms.

For further information on probate applications see our article "Did a Family Member or Friend Die Leaving An Estate in British Columbia That Requires A Representation Grant of Probate or Administration?".

Personal Representatives – A personal representative is a person who has the authority to administer the estate of a deceased person in British Columbia. This includes an executor appointed by will or, if there is no will, an administrator appointed by the court.

Representation Grants – The executor or administrator are the personal representatives of the estate. The representation grant gives to the personal representative exclusive authority to administer the estate or that part of the estate to which the representation grant applies in accordance with its terms.

Grant of Probate – If the deceased made a will, the deceased appointed an executor to deal with his or her estate. The executor, upon deciding whether or not to act, will, if taking on the commitment to act, apply to the court for a grant of probate of the deceased's will.

Intestacy – If there is no will, provincial law determines who is entitled to apply to the court to deal with the deceased's estate. The person who will apply to the court in these circumstances is known as the administrator. The administrator will apply for a grant of administration of the estate.

Foreign Grants – If the deceased left an estate in British Columbia that is the subject of a foreign representation grant, an application can be made to the court to reseal the grant or to obtain what is called an ancillary grant of probate or administration thereby making the foreign representation grant effective to deal with the assets of the estate in British Columbia.

Probate Fees – In order to obtain a grant, the executor of administrator must pay probate fees to the Minister of Finance in British Columbia. These filing fees are based upon the gross value of the deceased's estate in British Columbia.

Statement of Assets and Liabilities – An application for a representation grant must include an affidavit of assets and liabilities. This affidavit sets out either all of the property of the deceased passing to the personal representative whether that property is located within or out of British Columbia together with the specific liabilities that secure or encumber such property or, in the case of a deceased who is not ordinarily resident in British Columbia at the time of their death, such assets and liabilities of the deceased in British Columbia alone.

Notice of Probate Application – An executor or administrator cannot file an application for a grant until at least twenty-one days have elapsed between the date upon which the beneficiaries or intestate's successors have received or acknowledged receipt of the executor's or administrator's notice of application and a copy of the deceased's will, if any.