A will nobody can find is, in practice, a will that does not exist. Here is how wills are located in British Columbia, and what the law expects of an executor who cannot find one.
Where to look in British Columbia
| Item | British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) |
| Court | Supreme Court of British Columbia |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Not valid as a category — BC requires wills to be signed and witnessed by two people. Section 58 gives the court a curative discretion to give effect to a non-compliant document, but that is a court application, not a right. |
| Probate cost | Roughly 1.4% on larger estates — charged in bands above a $25,000 threshold. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | The spouse first takes the household furnishings outright, then a preferential share of $300,000 where all of the intestate’s descendants are also the spouse’s, or $150,000 where they are not. The residue after the preferential share is then split one half to the spouse and one half to the descendants. |
| Will registry | A government Wills Registry run by the Vital Statistics Agency. Filing a wills notice costs $17; it records only where a will is kept, never the will itself. Searching costs $20 per name (plus $5 an alias, $33 for courier), and after a death anyone may apply with a death certificate — results in 20 business days by mail, or next business day by courier. If you are looking for a will in BC, search this first: it is cheaper than any private service, ours included. |
| Claims against the estate | Section 60 of WESA permits a spouse OR a child — including an independent adult child — to apply to vary a will that fails to make adequate provision. This is the broadest such regime in Canada. |
A diligent search
- The deceased’s lawyer, and the firm’s successor if it has closed.
- Safety deposit boxes at every bank they used.
- Home safes, filing cabinets, and digital storage.
- Will registries — government where one exists, private otherwise.
- The provincial law society, which may hold records for a wound-up practice.
Where an original will was last known to be with the deceased and cannot be found, a court may presume it was destroyed deliberately — and administer the estate as an intestacy. Documenting the search is what rebuts that.
Why this is a religious question too
The hadith on wills speaks of the document being "kept ready with him" — findability is part of the obligation, not an administrative afterthought. Recording that a will exists, and where, is the gap the Islamic Will Registry exists to close.
Common questions
What if we cannot find the original?
A copy may be admissible, but where the original was last known to be with the deceased a court may presume it was destroyed deliberately and treat the estate as intestate.
Who is allowed to search for a will?
Typically the executor named in a will, or a family member applying to administer the estate.
Does registering a will make it valid?
No. A registry records that a will exists and where it is kept. Validity is a separate question governed by the province's formal requirements.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c 13 — BC Laws
- Probate fees by province / territory — TaxTips.ca
- Wills Registry — Province of British Columbia
- Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada
- Preferential share spouse intestacy ontario — Treadstone Law
- Holograph handwritten will ontario — Treadstone Law
- What is preferential share ontario intestacy — Treadstone Law
- Intestacy spouse one child ontario — Treadstone Law
- Is ontario will valid if signed by one witness — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law