British Columbia Law
BC Court Stresses Importance of Clear Wording and Will Reviews
A recent BC Appeal Court decision confirms how important it is to use the correct words, and how important it is to review your Will often to confirm your words still accurately reflect your final wishes - because circumstances change.
The Will in question was made in 1984, many years before the Court was asked to construe its meaning about the gift value - after the enormous increase in real estate values since 1984. The Court confirmed: "...the task of the court is not to rewrite a will to make it fairer in the present circumstances. It is to identify and respect the wishes of the testator as expressed at the time the will was drawn."
The Court found the Will Maker intended the value of the gift to be its 1984 value - not current. The lesson: review your Will, and use precise language. A Will made decades ago may no longer reflect what you intend.
Why Wording in a Will Is So Legally Significant
In BC, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) governs how Wills are interpreted and administered. When a dispute arises about a Will's meaning, the court's job is not to guess what you probably meant or to rewrite your Will in a way that seems fairer today. The court's job is to find what you intended when you wrote those words - at the time you wrote them.
This is a profound and often underappreciated limitation. The law presumes that the words in your Will mean exactly what you wrote, and no more. If your words are ambiguous, the court will hear evidence about what you intended - but that process is expensive, uncertain, and sometimes leads to outcomes no one wanted.
Real Estate Values and the Frozen-Time Problem
The case described above is far from unique. BC has experienced some of the most dramatic real estate appreciation in North American history. A family home worth $85,000 in 1984 in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland may be worth $2.5 million today.
If your 1984 Will left your home to one child and $100,000 in cash to another, the intent may have been to treat them equally - but the actual result, four decades later, is wildly unequal.
Without a Will review that updated those specific bequests, the court cannot fix the imbalance. It can only interpret what you wrote.
Common Will-Wording Mistakes That Lead to Court Disputes
Vague gift descriptions are among the most litigated Will issues in BC:
Referring to property by description rather than title - "my house on Maple Street" - creates problems if you sold that house and bought another one, or if the street name changed.
Leaving a fixed dollar amount to one beneficiary and "the rest" to another often produces wildly unequal results over time, as the fixed amount becomes a smaller and smaller share of the total estate.
Naming an executor or beneficiary by relationship rather than full legal name - "my son" or "my daughter" - creates ambiguity in blended families where the testator had both biological and step-children.
Failing to name an alternate executor or alternate beneficiary. If your named executor has predeceased you or is unable to act, and your Will names no alternate, the court must appoint an administrator - adding cost and delay to every step of estate administration.
Conditional Gifts and the Risk of Unclear Conditions
Wills sometimes contain conditional gifts - "I leave $50,000 to my daughter Jane if she graduates from university." But what counts as "graduation"?
What if the university Jane attends does not use that term?
What if she earns a college diploma instead?
Conditional gifts that seem clear when written often become disputed when administered, especially if the Will Maker is no longer available to clarify their intent.
The Obligation to Provide for Spouses and Children
Under Part 4 of WESA, BC imposes a legal obligation on a deceased to provide "adequate provision" for their spouse and children in their Will. If a Will fails to make adequate provision, an eligible person (spouse, adult child, or minor child through a representative) can apply to the BC Supreme Court to vary the Will.
A court hearing a wills variation claim will look at: the size of the estate, the testator's relationship with the claimant, the testator's legal and moral obligations, the financial circumstances of all beneficiaries, and the reasons (if any) given for excluding or limiting a claimant.
Clear wording alone does not protect against a variation claim - but a well-drafted Will with a clearly expressed rationale for all gifts significantly reduces the risk of a successful challenge.
When Should You Review Your Will?
BC estate lawyers recommend reviewing your Will at every significant life event:
Marriage - in BC, marriage does not automatically revoke a Will (under WESA), but it is a critical review trigger.
Separation or divorce - under WESA, a gift to a former spouse is revoked on divorce, but not on separation. This creates a gap that a review can address.
Birth or adoption of a child - you may need to add a Guardian appointment and adjust your beneficiary designations.
Death of a named executor or beneficiary - your Will must be updated to name replacements.
Significant change in asset values - especially relevant to fixed-dollar gifts when your estate has grown substantially.
At minimum, review your Will every three to five years regardless of life changes. BC real estate values, tax law, and your personal circumstances all shift in ways that may make your existing Will produce unintended results.
Sea to Sky Law™ provides Will review, Will drafting, and complete estate planning services across all of British Columbia. Andrew Liggett BA JD CD has decades of experience drafting clear, comprehensive Wills that minimisize the risk of dispute and ensure your wishes are carried out exactly as you intend. Contact us today for a Will review consultation.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Meetings are by appointment only, by phone or secure video.