Settling Small Estates (BC)
In British Columbia, there is no official concept of a "small" estate settlement process, but it is still possible to avoid probate under certain circumstances.
Assets That Bypass Probate
There's no need for probate if the estate consists solely of assets that bypass probate, such as assets held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship (e.g., a home) assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., RRSPs, life insurance policies), accounts Payable on Death, and other standard probate exclusions.
Custodian Cooperation
Even if there are assets that do not automatically transfer on death, you may be able to avoid probate if the existing asset custodians allow you to take possession of the assets without a probate Grant of Letters. However, if a custodian such as a financial institution requires an official executor appointment, then probate will be required.
No Probate Fees for Estates <$25,000
In any case, estates worth less than $25,000 are not subject to any probate fees (see Probate Fee Act, SBC 1999, c 4, s 2).
Real Property
If the estate contains real property (i.e., real estate) that does not automatically transfer on death, then probate will always be required.
Disputes
If there are disputes about the will, or debts, you will most likely want to go through probate in any case, for the legal protections and process it provides
Estate Settlement Considerations
Before paying any debts or making any distributions, be sure to account for any Family Entitlements in BC, which typically have priority over everything except expenses of the last illness, funeral charges, and any estate administrations expenses.
Even if the estate does not go through probate, you may still be entitled to Executor Compensation in BC, and this compensation also has priority over most estate debts.
Estate debts have priority over most distributions in turn, so before distributing assets you should resolve any estate debts. If the estate makes any distributions beyond amounts set aside for family entitlements, unpaid creditors have the right to sue the recipients for repayment using those excess distributions. Consequently, even if the settlement process does not require you to publish a Notice to Creditors, you may want to follow BC probate rules for finding estate debts, since doing so may limit the time creditors have to pursue repayment.
If estate solvency is uncertain, an executor should consider going through official probate for the increased creditor protection it offers. Alternately, such uncertainty can sometimes persuade creditors to forgive a portion of debts, since they will want to avoid legal expenses as well, and may prefer to get something rather than nothing.
See also Making Distributions.
No Small Estate Affidavit
People often ask if there is a small estate affidavit process in BC, and indeed the Wills, Estates, and Success Act does reference such a thing, but the referenced details never made it into law (Part 6, Division 2).
Court
In British Columbia, the Supreme Court of BC handles probate and estate administration (see Supreme Court registry locations).
See also People's Law School: Do I Need a Court Application?, and these common BC probate forms.
Additional Information
If your estate doesn't qualify for a small estate approach, or you're simply interested in exploring standard probate, take a look at Probate in BC.
And since probate is just the court-supervised subset of winding up a person's affairs after death, you'll probably want to check out our Complete Guide to Estate Settlement in BC.
Finally, in case you're interested, details about handling small estates in other provinces can be found here: