Everyone loves bloopers. And the higher they are, the harder they fall!
I shouldn香蕉视频直播檛 put myself up on a pedestal. But surely a lawyer wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 make dumb mistakes when applying for an estate grant, right?
Some folks harbour the misconception that lawyers know how to do all things legal.
Law school doesn香蕉视频直播檛 teach us how to practice law. We learn as we go.
My 25+ years of litigation experience didn香蕉视频直播檛 prepare me for applying for estate grants.
I did have a leg up, though. My first estate came with an extra challenge because it required a court application. My years of litigation and experience making court applications came in handy.
The challenge was an invalid will.
The deceased had hand-written the following on a piece of paper (I changed the names): 香蕉视频直播淚 John Smith being of sound mind give all my belongings to Jane Doe香蕉视频直播�. The 香蕉视频直播淲ill香蕉视频直播� wasn香蕉视频直播檛 properly witnessed.
Fortunately, British Columbia law allows the court to 香蕉视频直播渃ure香蕉视频直播� an invalid will if the court finds that the document contains the will-maker香蕉视频直播檚 testamentary intentions. Making that application to the court was right up my alley. Easy peasy!
But there were all sorts of deficiencies with the materials I submitted for the estate grant, most of which could not have been anticipated.
I am going to list all of the deficiencies my estate grant filings have had, most pertaining to this first estate file. I am sharing them to help you avoid them if you find yourself muddling through this process.
Submission for Estate Grant not including additional documents
The Submission for Estate Grant (P2), must list all the materials being submitted.
Wouldn香蕉视频直播檛 you know but I failed include the application materials I filed to cure the will within the list!
Name difference requiring explanation
The deceased had named the beneficiary in the will without her middle name. In the Submission for Estate Grant (P2), I included the beneficiary香蕉视频直播檚 middle name.
An explanation was required, i.e. confirmation that the beneficiary named in the will was the same as the person referred to in the Submission for Estate Grant.
The answer 香蕉视频直播渘one香蕉视频直播� was missing
The Submission for Estate Grant includes several separate paragraphs where you provide the names of the deceased香蕉视频直播檚 spouse, children, beneficiaries, intestate successors and citors.
If nobody exists under any of those categories, it香蕉视频直播檚 not sufficient to leave that paragraph blank. You must put the word 香蕉视频直播渘one香蕉视频直播� or in some other way indicate that nobody fits within that category.
Failing to include a VIN number
I had provided the make, model and a value of the deceased香蕉视频直播檚 car in the Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities (P10).
The registry requires that the VIN number of motor vehicles also be included.
Insufficient bank account information
I had provided the name of the credit union, account number and account balance at the time of death.
But I hadn香蕉视频直播檛 provided the location of the credit union branch and didn香蕉视频直播檛 specify that the balance included interest to the date of death which are details the court registry requires.
Unstapled will
With one estate, I had unstapled the will to make a copy of it.
An unstapled will raises a concern about whether it香蕉视频直播檚 the complete, original will and requires an explanation.
Will search not including an alias
When searching the Wills Registry to ensure there are no more recent wills than the one you are submitting for probate, it香蕉视频直播檚 important to include any aliases of the deceased.
With one estate, the deceased had signed the will using their first initial along with their complete last name. The will search I had submitted to the Wills Registry did not include that alias, i.e. 香蕉视频直播淛. Smith香蕉视频直播�.
The deceased hadn香蕉视频直播檛 used 香蕉视频直播淛. Smith香蕉视频直播� for bank accounts, vehicle or property registrations, but the fact that they had signed their will with that alias required that alias to be searched.
Inconsistent postal code
A data entry error resulted in the deceased香蕉视频直播檚 address in one of the documents having a different postal code than his address in another document.
Bad math
The most embarrassing error was having an incorrect sum totaling the assets in the Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities.
Each of these deficiencies was easy to rectify. The registrar provides a copy of their very detailed checklist along with their instructions of what they require you to do to rectify it.
If anyone is interested in a copy of the checklist, let me know and I香蕉视频直播檒l e-mail it to you.
Deficiencies result in very little delay because once your file gets to the front of the queue to be reviewed by the registrar, it stays there so your rectification materials will be reviewed very quickly.
I am pleased to report that each of these deficiencies were learning experiences that have 香蕉视频直播渟tuck香蕉视频直播� and I am consistently submitting estate grant applications without deficiencies!
Paul Hergott
You are encouraged to contact Paul directly at paul@hlaw.ca with legal questions and issues you would like him to write about.
