Are you looking for a wills lawyer in Coquitlam, BC?
At HS Law Corporation, we are trusted wills counsel for families and business owners throughout Coquitlam.
If you have been meaning to make a will for years and keep setting it aside, a Coquitlam, BC wills lawyer can move you from intention to a signed document in a few weeks. Most people find the process shorter and less invasive than they expected.
Hogan Song has practised law for more than 20 years across British Columbia and other Canadian jurisdictions, in estates and in business. A will drafted properly the first time rarely needs revisiting more than once a decade. Reach out to arrange a consultation.
Wills Lawyer Coquitlam, BC
A will states who receives your property after you die and who is responsible for carrying that out. It does nothing while you are alive, and you can change it at any point as long as you have capacity. When there is no will, the intestacy rules answer both questions on your behalf, and the answer is fixed by statute rather than by anything you wanted.
Nineteen percent of Coquitlam seniors live alone, according to the City’s seniors strategy. Living alone removes a default that a great many people quietly rely on. There is no surviving spouse to inherit, and no obvious candidate to step forward as executor, so both have to be named in writing by the person themselves. That is true of a great many households here, not only older ones.
Types of Wills Cases We Handle in Coquitlam
A will is a short document, and that is exactly why the wording has to be exact. We ask what you own before we ask who gets it.
- Simple wills. For a client with a home, some savings and adult beneficiaries, the document can be brief. It names an executor, distributes the residue, and does little else. Short does not mean casual, and the signing formalities still have to be met exactly.
- Mirror wills for couples. Spouses often want near-identical wills leaving everything to each other, then to the children. We draft the pair together and talk through what happens if the survivor remarries, which is the scenario these wills most often fail to anticipate.
- Wills with testamentary trusts. A trust written into the will can hold a beneficiary’s share rather than paying it out at once. This suits young beneficiaries, a beneficiary receiving disability benefits, and anyone whose circumstances make a lump sum unwise.
- Guardianship appointments. Parents of children under 19 can name who they want to raise them. The court is not bound by that choice but gives it real weight, which is reason enough to record it.
- Updating a will. A codicil handles a small change, while a new will is cleaner for anything substantial. Marriage, separation, a death in the family and a property purchase are the four events that most often make an existing will inaccurate.
- Second wills for company shares. Owners of a private company sometimes benefit from a second will covering their shares. Structured properly, it keeps those assets outside the probate application.
- Estate administration. Drafting the will is one job and carrying it out is another. We act for executors applying for a representation grant and advise them on their duties once it issues.
- Will disputes. Wills are sometimes challenged after a death, on grounds ranging from capacity to how the document was signed. We act for the people bringing those claims and for the estates defending them.
Why Choose HS Law as my Wills Lawyer in Coquitlam, BC?
We Draft for What You Actually Own
A will only reaches property held in your own name. Jointly owned real estate, registered plans with a named beneficiary and company shares each behave differently, and a will drafted without checking them can distribute far less than the client assumed. Hogan Song serves as your principal lawyer, and associate lawyers are brought in at his discretion. His corporate background is useful with estate planning, because a shareholder’s will and their shareholder agreement have to stay compatible. Where the two conflict, the agreement usually governs, and the will-maker’s intention loses.
A Wills Practice Serving Coquitlam Families
We offer support with wills, alongside powers of attorney, representation agreements and probate. That matters because the will is rarely the only document a household needs. A will says nothing about who manages your affairs if you are alive but unable to, which is a separate document and a separate conversation. Hogan holds a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of Alberta, and he sits on the board of the Tri-Cities Seniors Action Society. Our Coquitlam office also handles civil litigation and corporate matters.
What Is Important To Understand About Wills Cases?
What Makes a Will Valid in British Columbia
The formal requirements are short, and most homemade wills fail on one of them.
- Age and capacity. The will-maker must be 16 or older and must understand what they own and who has a claim on it.
- In writing and signed. The document has to be written and signed at its end by the will-maker.
- Two witnesses. Both must be present when the will-maker signs, and both must sign in the will-maker’s presence.
- Independent witnesses. A witness who is also a beneficiary can lose their gift, which is why the choice of witnesses matters.
- Clear residue clause. Property not specifically dealt with falls into the residue. A will without a working residue clause creates a partial intestacy, so part of the estate passes under statute regardless of what the rest of the document says.
What Are Important Aspects of a Wills Case?
Choosing an executor is the decision clients spend least time on and regret most often. The role involves paperwork, deadlines and occasionally telling a relative something they do not want to hear. Being the eldest child is not a qualification for it. Geography matters too, since an executor living outside Canada can complicate the administration, and an alternate should always be named in case the first choice cannot act.
Provision for family is the second consideration. A spouse or child who believes a will failed to provide adequately for them can apply to have it varied, and a wills variation claim can unsettle an estate for a year or more. Where a client intends to leave someone out, or to divide unequally between children, we record the reasons at the time of drafting rather than leaving the executor to explain it afterward.
Capacity and independence run underneath everything. We take instructions from the client alone, without a family member in the room, because a will signed in the presence of the person who benefits from it invites an undue influence argument later. Understanding the reasons people contest an estate is part of how we decide what goes in the file alongside the will itself.
What Should You Bring to Your Wills Consultation?
Nothing has to be complete. A rough list is enough to start.
- A note of what you own, including property, accounts and any business interest.
- How each property is held, if you know, and whether anyone else is on title.
- Beneficiary designations already in place on registered plans or insurance.
- Any existing will, however old.
- The names of the people you would appoint as executor, guardian and alternate.
Consultations run 30 minutes, by phone or video, at no charge. We use the time to work out which documents your situation actually calls for. If a simple will covers it, that is what we will tell you.
What Is The Wills Case Timeline?
Most wills are finished within a month of the first meeting, and a straightforward one moves faster than that. Company shares or property held outside the province add time, since both need to be reviewed before the drafting starts.
- First meeting. We go through what you own and who depends on you.
- Written instructions. We confirm your decisions in writing so nothing rests on recollection.
- Draft and review. You read the draft and we revise until it says what you meant.
- Signing. You sign in front of two witnesses, and we handle the formalities.
- Storage and registration. The original is stored and a wills notice is filed so it can be located.
Coquitlam Wills Resources
Public and non-profit bodies publish material worth reading before you sit down with anyone.
- Make a Will Week, a provincial campaign. Sets out why a will matters and reports how many British Columbians actually hold a valid one.
- Service BC offices. A wills notice can be filed in person at most locations, which is how the registry knows where your will is kept.
- Making a will webinar from People’s Law School. A lawyer and a notary answer common questions on validity, executors and testamentary trusts.
- Coquitlam 50 Plus Services. The City runs the Dogwood and Glen Pine pavilions, which host seminars and connect older residents with local services.
Reach Out to HS Law to Schedule a Consultation
Putting it in writing takes less time than most people expect. Contact us to book a free 30 minute consultation by phone or video. We’ll go through what you own and who you want to provide for, then tell you what the document needs to say. You will leave that call knowing what your will should cover, whether or not you decide to proceed with us.
