Estate Administration 2025
January 29, 2025 at 9:00AM PST
Live Webinar - online only!
Estate Administration 2025
January 29, 2025
Overview
The administration of wills and estates is an increasingly complex area of law, and disputes can be time consuming and emotionally and financially draining for all involved. In these uncertain times, the issues can be complicated and amplified. To best serve and protect your clients’ wishes, it is imperative that all those involved in estate planning and administration stay current on the most troubling issues facing administrators today, and how best to navigate them.
This program assembles a faculty of leading experts in the field who will examine some of the most challenging issues arising in estate administration today, and provide you with techniques to effectively avoid these problems where possible, as well as best practices and advice to address the issues if and when they do arise.
This program will be accessed via Live Webinar only!
Key Areas to be Addressed:
Proof in solemn form
Life estates
Issues concerning probate and spouses
Special estate planning issues
Tax planning
Estates of First Nations individuals
Who Should Attend:
Wills, trusts and estate lawyers and their paralegals
Personal representatives
Accountants and tax professionals
Financial planners
Trust officers
Notaries
Agenda
9:00 - Welcome and Introduction by PBLI
9:05 - Chairs’ Welcome and Introduction
David Hunter
Hamilton Duncan Armstrong + Stewart Law Corporation
Aubrie Girou
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
9:10 - Proof in Solemn Form
David Hunter
Hamilton Duncan Armstrong + Stewart Law Corporation
Aubrie Girou
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
When to apply for proof in solemn form
Mechanics of an application for proof in solemn form
Relevant presumptions
Recent cases
10:00 - Questions and Discussion
10:10 - Morning Break
10:25 - Life Estates
Scott Boucher
Lawson Lundell LLP
Jisoo Vis
Lawson Lundell LLP
Max Walker
Lawson Lundell LLP
Interpretation considerations
Administration of a life estate – practical considerations
Guarding against potential conflicts
11:15 - Questions and Discussion
11:25 - Spouses, in Probate
Polly Storey
Clark Wilson LLP
Zachary Murphy-Rogers
Clark Wilson LLP
Case law on the meaning of spouse
Spousal issues that arise on distribution of estate when there is no will
Spousal issues that may arise when there is a will
o The matrimonial home
o Wills variation
12:15 - Questions and Discussion
12:25 - Lunch Break
1:25 - More Than Ordinary Estate Planning
Catherine Bunio
Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP
Multiple wills
Escheat process
Bare trusts holding land
2:15 - Questions and Discussion
2:25 - Afternoon Break
2:40 - Tax Planning In Probate
Laura Peach
Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers
How the will-maker’s tax plan (or lack thereof) take effect after the death of the will-maker
Timing and identification of key steps
Cautions & tips for best practice
3:30 - Questions and Discussion
3:40 - First Nations Estates
Roger Lee
DLA Piper
The estate regime under the Indian Act and regulations
Probate process for estates of First Nations individuals
o Which jurisdiction to use
Particular concerns and issues related to:
o Proof in solemn form
o Wills variation
o Land on reserve
4:30 - Questions and Discussion
4:40 - Chairs’ Closing Remarks – Program Concludes
Meet the Co-Chairs
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Partner, Hamilton Duncan Law Corporation, Surrey, BC
David Hunter is a partner of Hamilton Duncan and Co-Chair of its Estate and Trust Litigation department. David has a civil litigation practice with a primary focus on estate and trust litigation. He represents executors, trustees, attorneys, beneficiaries, and other individuals in all levels of court in British Columbia. David has experience in a variety of estate and trust-related disputes, including undue influence and capacity claims, construction and variation of wills and trusts, determination of spousal status, and contentious matters of estate and trust administration. He also advises executors and trustees in the administration of estates and trusts, as wells as clients concerned about elder financial abuse. David is a past president of the Fraser Valley Estate Planning Council and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Trusts and Estates since 2020.
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Partner, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver, BC
Aubrie is a partner in the Wills, Estates + Trusts practice group at AHBL. Aubrie practices exclusively in the area of wills, estates + trusts, and incapacity and maintains both a solicitor’s and litigation practice. She assists clients with all aspects of contentious disputes – simple and complex – that can arise on death or incapacity including wills variation, unjust enrichment, constructive or resulting trusts, breach of fiduciary duties, committeeship applications, and accountings. She has represented clients before all levels of court in British Columbia. Aubrie also works strategically with clients to help put in place effective wealth preservation plans for each client’s unique circumstances with an aim to avoid post-mortem conflicts.
Meet the Faculty
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Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver, BC
Scott Boucher is a partner in the Vancouver office of Lawson Lundell and a member of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. His practice focuses on general commercial litigation with an emphasis on trusts and estate litigation as well as insolvency and restructuring matters. He assists clients and other lawyers on a wide variety of matters, including trusts litigation, wills variation and wills validity actions, elder law and capacity issues, insolvency files including receivership, CCAA, bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings, as well as general contract, corporate and property law issues. He has appeared before the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the British Columbia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
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TEP, Partner, Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver, BC
Zachary maintains both a litigator’s practice and a solicitor’s practice in the areas of Estates & Trusts, Charities & Not-for-Profits, Surrogacy Law, Family Law and Elder Law. His offerings include incapacity and estate planning advice and document drafting, including trusts for disabled beneficiaries; estate and trust administration services, including acting as an executor/administrator/administrator-pending-litigation of estates; wills variation and undue influence claims; committeeship applications; dealing with foreign grants of probate; and advice on the rights and obligations of beneficiaries, executors, and trustees.
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Associate, Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver, BC
Cate is a member of the AHBL’s Wills + Estates group. Cate advises clients on a broad range of matters relating to estate and trust planning, and estate administration. On the planning side, Cate advises clients on estate and trust planning strategies including the use of wills, alter ego and joint spousal trusts, discretionary family trusts and disability trusts. Cate also provides advice on incapacity planning, including the preparation and use of powers of attorney, representation agreements and nominations of committee, and committeeship applications. On the administration side, Cate advises executors, administrators, trustees and estate beneficiaries on their respective roles, including navigating the probate process, the passing of executor accounts and the transfer of estate and trust assets.
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Partner, DLA Piper, Vancouver, BC
Roger Lee is a member of DLA Piper’s litigation department, with a broad estate litigation practice. He also has significant experience with general commercial litigation, including forestry and construction disputes, land related issues (including leasing), and fraud related recovery work. Since his call to the bar, Roger has developed an extensive practice in trust and estate litigation. He assists individuals and charities with respect to their rights under the wills variation provisions of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, estate administration issues, as well as issues relating to the validity of wills and other testamentary instruments. He also advises corporate and individual trustees, as well as personal representatives, of their legal obligations and duties, and also acts for beneficiaries who question the actions of the executor or the trustees of their particular trusts.
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Parter, Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver, BC
Polly’s practice is focused on contentious estate, trust, and elder law litigation matters involving complex and novel legal issues and appellate review. She regularly assists clients with capacity and undue influence disputes; will validity, construction, and variation matters; contentious power of attorney and estate administration issues; and trust, unjust enrichment, and estoppel claims. Polly is the co-leader of Clark Wilson LLP’s Estates & Trusts Appeals and Opinions Initiative, drawing on her experience appearing before all levels of court in Canada and clerking with multiple judges at the Court of Appeal for British Columbia to assist clients and allied counsel with drafting legal opinions and arguments and with conducting appeals. Polly is a sought-after writer on estate, trust, and elder law matters and was a contributor to the British Columbia Estate Litigation textbook published by LexisNexis. She is also a contributing author on various publications maintained by the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia.
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Principal, Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver, BC
Laura assists clients with personal and corporate succession planning, including estate planning and trust and estate administration. She has significant experience advising on tax issues arising in estate planning and administration, including income tax issues and tax issues in relation to residential real estate. Laura is a former governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation. She has completed all three parts of the CPA Canada In-Depth Tax Course. She has also completed the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Diploma for Canada and was recognized for achieving the highest mark in the Trust and Estate Planning course and the highest diploma program average for 2021. Laura received her Juris Doctor from Dalhousie University, Schulich School of Law, in 2013. She was called to the Bar in the Province of British Columbia in 2014 and the State of New York in 2015. Prior to joining the firm, Laura articled and practiced taxation and corporate law at a large regional law firm and served as a judicial law clerk at the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
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TEP, Associate, Lawson Lundell LLP, Vancouver, BC
Jisoo is a business lawyer and member of the Lawson Lundell’s Asia Pacific Group, Corporate Commercial Group, and Estate Planning Group. Jisoo maintains a general business practice with a particular emphasis on implementing corporate structuring and reorganizations ultimately to address the needs of high-net-worth business owners and their families. Jisoo routinely prepares limited partnership agreements, shareholders’ agreements, share purchase documents, purchase and sale agreements, and complex trust indentures in connection with such practice. She has also assisted in share and asset purchase transactions, corporate governance and general corporate law matters. Her general corporate practice has intersected with the real estate, technology, hospitality, restaurant, construction and engineering sectors. Jisoo has led sizeable teams on, and has assisted with, acquiring, selling and financing real property in various asset classes, including shopping centres, industrial lands, office buildings, and residential apartment buildings. Jisoo also has experience in estate planning, probate and estate administration matters with varying degrees of complexity.
Registration Form
Program:
Estate Administration 2025
Date:
January 29, 2025
Location:
Live webinar - online only!
Registration:
The registration fee is $890.00 plus GST of $44.50 totalling $934.50 for webinar attendance. Registration fee covers your attendance at the program and electronic materials. Webinar links will be emailed prior to the event.
Early Bird Discount:
Register by December 30, 2024 and receive a $100 discount on the registration fee ($790.00 plus GST). Discounts cannot be combined.
Group Discount:
Register four persons from the same organization at the same time and you are entitled to a complimentary fifth registration. Discounts cannot be combined.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form and email it to registrations@pbli.com:
Payment:
You may pay by VISA, Mastercard or cheque. Cheques should be made payable to the Pacific Business & Law Institute and mailed to Unit 2-2246 Spruce Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 2P3. Please do not send cheques via courier with signature required.
When and Where:
Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The program starts at 9:00 a.m. (PST). Webinar instructions and access will be emailed prior to the program.
Materials:
The faculty will prepare papers and/or other materials explaining many of the points raised during this program. Materials will be distributed electronically. Please contact us at registrations@pbli.com if you are unable to attend the program and wish to purchase a set of materials.
Cancellations/Transfers:
Refunds will be given for cancellations (less a $60.00 administration fee) if notice is received in writing five full business days prior to the program (January 22, 2025). After that time we are unable to refund registration fees. Substitutions will be permitted. We reserve the right to cancel, change or revise the date, faculty, content, availability of webinar or venue and transfer in-person registration to webinar registration for this event.
To register by phone:
Telephone us: 604-730-2500
Your Privacy:
We will keep all information that you provide to us in strict confidence, other than to prepare a delegate list containing your name, title, firm and city for our faculty and the program delegates. We do not share our mailing lists with any non-affiliated organization.
Course Accreditation:
Attendance at this course can be listed for up to 6 hours of continuing professional development credits with the Law Society of BC. For practitioners in other jurisdictions, please check your governing body’s CPD requirements.
If you would like to register a group, please fill out this form (DOWNLOAD FORM) and email it to registrations@pbli.com (*This form is for registrations of 5 or more and cannot be combined with any other promotions/discount codes.)
For individual registration, please continue with form below.