General information

A will is a legal document left by someone who has died. It lets others know what to do with that person’s estate and who has the legal authority to do those things. When a person dies and leaves a valid will, it is the responsibility of the executor named in the will to administer the estate.

• An executor is the person or organization named in a will to administer and distribute an estate
• An estate refers to all the money, assets and property owned by a person

If the executor is not able or does not want to take on this responsibility, someone else can be appointed administrator of the estate. An administrator is a person responsible for administering the estate of someone who died, either without a will or where a named executor cannot act or has died. An administrator is the same as an executor, but is appointed by a court. The Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) establishes the people who have a right to administer the estate when a person dies without a will.

Usually, an administrator or executor is a family member or close friend. If it is a complicated estate, it could be a professional, such as a lawyer or trust company. If there is no suitable person to act as an executor, the Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) may provide this service. When we agree to administer the estate and there is a valid will, we follow the terms of the will.

What the PGT does when administering an estate

When the PGT administers an estate, we provide expert, impartial and professional service. We handle each estate under established policies and procedures. These include strict controls over how we secure, evaluate and dispose of assets. These controls also guide how we invest estate funds. Estate funds will earn interest during the time we are administering the estate.

Administering an estate is a lengthy process with many steps. These steps include:

• Making funeral arrangements
• Identifying, securing and dealing with assets
• Identifying and paying valid debts and claims against the estate
• Filing tax returns
• Dealing with legal issues that arise
• Identifying, locating and distributing the balance of the estate to the rightful intestate successors (commonly referred to as heirs) and/or beneficiaries.
  • An intestate successor (often commonly referred to as heir) is a person who is entitled to receive something from a deceased person’s estate, but there is no valid will or there is a gap in the will
  • A beneficiary is a person named in a will to receive all or part of an estate or people who have an interest in a trust that was created by a will

Timelines

Administering an estate can take several years to complete. It is hard to know in advance how long an estate may take to administer.

Fees 

The PGT charges fees for administering estates. All fees charged by the PGT are set by the B.C. government in the Public Guardian and Trustee Fees Regulation. For more information, see Fees for estate and personal trust services.

People with an interest in an estate administered by the PGT

Finding intestate successors (heirs)

The PGT makes every effort to find beneficiaries and heirs. We do this by:

• Reviewing the deceased’s personal records
• Speaking with caregivers, associates,  friends and family members of the deceased
• Researching the deceased family history, including accessing other records about the deceased or their relatives

When finding intestate successors (heirs) is difficult, we may contract the services of an heir locator or other investigators to document and confirm the deceased’s heirs. Fees for these services are paid from the estate.

When heirs are found, the PGT will work with them to obtain proof of their identity and relationship to the deceased, as well as to identify and prove if other people are entitled to share in the estate.

When we cannot locate some or all of the heirs, all or part of the estate may be transferred to the B.C. Unclaimed Property Society (BCUPS). After this has happened, future claims to an estate should be made to BCUPS.

Payments to heirs and beneficiaries

On completion of our administration, we send an accounting of our activities to the estate’s beneficiaries or heirs. Once we have received approval of the accounts from all of the heirs or beneficiaries, and received confirmation that all tax work is complete, we proceed with making the distributions.

Receiving all executed releases

Beneficiaries or heirs can specify their preference for distributions. For example:

• Electronic funds transfer to a financial institution in Canada or
• Wire transfer to institutions outside Canada

Before funds can be deposited, we must receive a completed authorization form.