An executor in BC takes on personal risk, and most of it turns on a handful of decisions

Do you have to accept being an executor in BC?

No. Being named in a will doesn't oblige you to act. You can renounce by signing a renunciation in the Part 25 form and filing it with the probate registry, provided you haven't already dealt with the estate as executor. You can also reserve your right to apply later, which lets a co-executor act while keeping your place.

The job, in short: find the will and assets, apply for the grant, deal with any land, collect what is owed, pay the debts and final taxes, keep accounts, and distribute the rest on the will's terms. With land, a business or family tension, it takes judgment at every stage, and saying no is reasonable.

Selling or handing out the deceased's belongings, running their bank account or collecting money owed to them all count as acting as executor. Arranging the funeral, securing the home and looking for the will generally don't. If you have already started and need to stop, the court can discharge you or pass you over, and you may have to account for what you did.

What should an executor not do before probate is granted?

Before the grant, an executor should not distribute assets, sell or give away the deceased's property, pay beneficiaries, use estate money for personal costs, or promise anyone a share. The safe work before the grant is protective: securing property, keeping insurance in force, gathering information, paying urgent bills from estate money, and recording everything.

Open an estate account as soon as a bank allows one, and run every estate receipt and payment through it. Tell the home insurer about the death, since a house left empty can lose its coverage. Don't let relatives move in or take keepsakes before the will's gifts are settled. Estate land can't be sold or passed to a beneficiary until, after the grant, a transmission puts it in the executor's name; the real estate pages cover both.

Advertise for creditors early. A notice in the BC Gazette under the Trustee Act gives creditors a date by which to make claims; once it passes, an executor who distributes is protected against claims they had no notice of. Ask for the deceased's tax records at the same time, since the final T1 return and its deadline depend on the date of death.

When can an executor safely pay out the estate in BC?

An executor in BC can usually make the final distribution once the WESA hold period after the grant has ended without a claim, creditors have been advertised for and paid, and the CRA has issued a clearance certificate for the deceased's and the estate's taxes. Paying out sooner needs written consent from those affected or a court order.

WESA holds the estate for a set period after the grant that runs past the 180 days a spouse or child has to start a wills variation claim, leaving time to be served with one. Distributing inside that period needs the consent of the beneficiaries and anyone who could bring a claim, or a court order. If a claim is started, the hold continues until it is resolved.

Tax clearance is the second gate. The CRA clearance certificate, requested once the final returns have been assessed, confirms the deceased's and the estate's taxes are paid to that date. An executor who distributes without one can be personally liable for unpaid tax up to the value of what was paid out, so a reserve is held back until it arrives. For a limited period the estate may also qualify as a graduated rate estate, taxed at graduated rates, which affects when income is paid out.

How much can an executor be paid in BC?

A BC executor can be paid reasonable compensation up to a ceiling the Trustee Act sets, measured against the estate's gross value, plus a yearly care and management fee where the executor manages investments over time. The will can fix a different amount. Otherwise the beneficiaries can agree a figure, or the court sets one.

The ceiling is a limit, not an entitlement. A court setting compensation looks at the size of the estate, how complicated it was, the time and skill required, the responsibility carried and the result achieved. Co-executors share one compensation, not one each.

Compensation is taxable income in the executor's hands, unlike an inheritance, so an executor who is also a main beneficiary sometimes waives it. Expenses are separate: with receipts, the estate repays proper costs such as travel on estate business, registry fees, appraisals and legal fees.

What happens if an executor dies or can't act?

It depends on when it happens. Before the will-maker dies, any alternate named in the will takes the place. After the death but before the grant, the alternate or a co-executor applies, or someone seeks administration with will annexed. Partway through administration, the court can grant administration of the part of the estate left unadministered.

An administrator appointed in any of these cases may have to post a bond before the grant issues, particularly where a minor or an incapable adult has an interest. Will-makers should name an alternate and revisit the choice as circumstances change; the Wills page covers updating a will.

• Before the will-maker dies: an alternate named in the will steps in at the death. If there is none and no named executor survives, someone applies for administration with will annexed, in WESA's order of priority.
• After the death, before the grant: a surviving co-executor can apply alone, with notice to the others. Otherwise the alternate applies, or a beneficiary or other eligible person seeks administration with will annexed, and the will's terms still govern.
• Partway through administration: the role generally does not pass to the deceased executor's own executor. Someone applies for a grant covering the unadministered estate, and the deceased executor's estate accounts for what was done.
• Unable to carry on: if an executor loses capacity or stops acting, a co-executor or beneficiary can apply to have them removed and someone appointed in their place.

What can you do if a co-executor or beneficiary is making the job impossible?

Put everything in writing and give everyone the same information about the estate, its accounts and next steps. If a co-executor won't cooperate, or a beneficiary's demands are blocking the work, the BC Supreme Court can give directions, order the accounts passed, or remove a personal representative under WESA and appoint someone else.

Co-executors act jointly unless the will lets a majority decide, so one can stall the estate by refusing to sign. Set out what needs doing and propose dates. If that fails, an application for directions asks the court to decide the disputed step. Removal is reserved for real obstacles, such as a conflict of interest, misconduct or a long refusal to act, not a difference in style.

Beneficiaries are entitled to information and to see the accounts, and giving both early defuses most arguments. A beneficiary who disputes the accounts can require them to be passed before the court under Part 25, where a registrar reviews them, compensation included. An executor can start that process too, to close the estate on approved accounts. Where the will itself is under attack, the wills variation page covers the claims.