Trevor Todd is one of the province’s most esteemed estate litigation lawyers. He has spent more than 40 years helping the disinherited contest wills and transfers – and win. From his Kerrisdale office Trevor empowers claimants and restores dignity to families across BC.
Everyday people are disinherited by their loved ones and need to manage a contested will. Some with just cause, others without. It’s rarely a money issue; disinheritance cases are often filled with family misunderstandings and heartfelt emotion that leads to a contested will.
The good news for the disinherited is this: Not all wills may be valid. Or if it is valid, it may be varied. They may reflect old misunderstandings, abusive attitudes, or improper influence. Where there is due course, wills and transfers can be successfully challenged in court.
You can write your own but is this a good idea?
Only if you want it contested.
Our current wills law was adopted in B.C. in 1918.
It is different from the rest of Canada. You have a moral obligation to provide for your children. Obviously for your spouse.
Most other places in the world you have to provide for your children but here in B.C. only your spouse.
You can disinherit your children. The way to do this is set up a trust to exclude certain children.
Many people decide to save a few dollars by deciding to utilize a “form” from the internet or simply prepare a note that they have witnessed in accordance with the Act. Lawyers such as Trevor strongly encourage such savings : rarely do they consider obligations to family members that in B.C. cannot be ignored, and give rise to the sort of claims that represent losses to everybody concerned except, of course, for the legal profession. Most lawyers have faced friends, neighbours or clients who want one to ‘have a look at the will that I have just prepared’ and at that point can almost begin to open the file that will probably be the result of such self-help. As Trevor so directly pointed out, the legislation in B.C. is almost unique and thus researching testamentary obligations on the net will almost certainly produce nothing but confusion. In Ruritania, for example, as in most of Europe, one is obligated to favour one’s family, even to the extent of having the prior improper gifts clawed back.
The speaker was thanked by Lexie.
On Friday instead of our regular lunch meeting we had an evening barbeque at "Off The Grill" at Britannia Center. We are one of the sponsors of this program that engages youth in the community with healthy food and building relationships with health professionals. The youth do the planning of meals, shopping for groceries, prepping food, serving customers, setting up the space and cleaning up afterwards. The barbeque is open to all of the community and helps bridge the social gaps between the youth and their neighbors.
