Old Will, new (and old) law

Last week, the B.C. Supreme Court handed down reasons for judgement in an interesting case called Pace Estate. In this case, the deceased met his spouse in 1993. They lived together with her two children and then married in 2002.

A few months before their marriage, they made Wills. In 2005 they separated, and in 2009 divorced. The deceased then, around 2013, met another person with whom he was apparently living when he died, in 2015.

The new spouse challenged the Will, arguing that, under the former law (the Wills Act), the 2002 marriage revoked the Will. If successful, she would recover a large portion of the Estate under the rules of Intestacy.

The Court, however, held that the Will was sufficiently clear that it had been made in contemplation of the deceased’s 2002 marriage, and therefore was not revoked.

However, the 2009 divorce did revoke the gifts to the former wife and her appointment as Executor.

The Will was held to be otherwise valid. The Will is now going to Probate and the surviving spouse (if she is one, which has to be determined) may choose to advance a claim against the Estate.

This ad ran in the Richmond News on December 16, 2016.