Glossary for Preparing Your Will
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This page from JP Boyd on Family Law—and other pages from this Wikibook that discuss BC family law litigation topics—are under editorial review to provide more thorough, current, and practical guidance. Since 2020, procedures, forms, and laws have changed significantly. While gross inaccuracies have been corrected, some details may still be outdated. These pages were not included in the 2024 print edition, and have been highlighted in orange where they appear in the navigation menu on this website. |
- assets
- What you own. Assets can include things such as money, land, investments, andpersonal possessions such as jewelry and furniture.
- beneficiary
- Person or organization you leave something to in your Will.
- codicil
- A document made after the Will that changes some things in your Will.
- estate
- All of the property and belongings you own at your death. The estate does not include property you own with someone else in joint tenancy, or joint bank accounts. The estate does not include
insurance policies, RRSPs or RRIFs, or other things you own which specifically name someone as your beneficiary.
- executor
- The person you appoint to carry out the instructions in your Will.
- joint tenancy
- When two or more persons are equally owners of some property.
- power of attorney
- A legal document outlining the specific duties for which the power of attorney is granted.
- probate
- A legal procedure that confirms the Will can be acted on and authorizes the executor to act.
- public guardian and trustee
- Operates under provincial law to protect and provide support for financial and personal decision making where there is no one else able to do so.
- representation agreement
- A legal document to authorize someone to assist you or to act on your behalf for health care and personal care matters.
- RRIF
- The Registered Retirement Income Fund plan is designed to provide people with a constant income flow through retirement from the savings in their RRSPs.
- RRSP
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan is a legal trust registered with the Canada Revenue Agency and used to save for retirement.
- spouse
- Someone married to another person, or:
(b) has lived with another person in a marriage-like relationship, and
(i) has done so for a continuous period of at least 2 years.
| This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014. |
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 Writing Your Will © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.
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