Being an Executor

Being an Executor from People's Law School is for people who have been appointed as executor in a will. It covers the steps involved in British Columbia in dealing with an estate after a person dies, including the procedure to probate the will. This edition reflects the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, which became law in 2014.

Cover of Being an Executor

Contents

• Being Asked to Be an Executor
  • What's involved in being an executor? · How difficult is it? · Do you have to act as executor? · Does an executor get paid? · What if more than one executor is appointed? · When does the responsibility end? · Could you get help?

• Ten Steps to Being an Executor
  • Step 1. Locate the will · Step 2. Confirm the validity of the will · Step 3. Protect the assets · Step 4. Arrange the funeral · Step 5. Communicate with beneficiaries · Step 6. List the assets & liabilities · Step 7. Apply for probate · Step 8. Deal with debts & taxes · Step 9. Account to beneficiaries · Step 10. Distribute the estate

• Probating the Will
  • How do you start the probate process? · What documents are required? · How long will your application take? · What are the probate fees? · What if your application is rejected?

• Resources
  • Where to get help · Glossary

• About
  • About this publication · About People's Law School

Copyright & Disclaimer

Being an Executor © People’s Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

The information is produced for educational purposes and is not intended as legal advice. If you need advice about a specific legal problem, please contact a legal professional. Some sources of legal help are highlighted in the "Where to Get Help" section.

People's Law School

People's Law School is a non-profit society in British Columbia providing free education and information on the legal problems of daily life.