What happens when you leave your Estate to be preserved for “historical purposes” and have no heirs? The answer is a mess. Now the issue of the Binning Estate has ended up in the BC Court of Appeal. Jessie Binning, widow to famed Canadian artist Bertram Binning, no doubt had…
Common Law relationships and intestate Estates. Nancy Chen proved to the Supreme Court of British Columbia that she was the common law spouse of Philip Richardson, and was awarded his estate on November 19, 2014. Ms. Chen’s status as a common-law spouse was disputed by the deceased man’s brother, Steve…
Every year in BC thousands of people die without making a Will. When that happens their debt and property is distributed according to the BC Wills, Estates and Succession Act, s.20-23 (“WESA”). The property and debt of a deceased is called their estate. When a Will is drafted, it will…