The statutory division in the Act cannot be deviated from. None of your
friends or other relatives could benefit from your estate, nor would it be
possible for any of your estate to be bequeathed to charities.
You have no choice regarding who administers the estate. The Administrator
will be appointed by court order. While anyone can apply to do this, preference
goes to next of kin (usually the spouse, then children, then parents). If no one
applies to do so, the Official Administrator for British Columbia will perform
the task. This often prolongs the process.
Court ordered appointment of an Administrator usually increases the legal
costs to your estate.
If you have outstanding debts when you die, your creditors will have to
agree to the appointment of your Administrator without bond. If any of them
don't agree to this, the court may require your Administrator to post a bond to
protect the estate's assets.
If you don't have a will, you cannot designate guardians for your children
who are under the age of 19.
If you have children younger than 19 when you die, their share of your
estate will be paid to the Public Guardian and Trustee. It will be administered
by this office until they reach the age of 19. You won't have any control over
how the monies are paid out for the benefit of your children. Requests can be
made for funds before they reach 19, but it's up to the discretion of the Public
Guardian.
Typically all assets must be converted to cash. Family heirlooms may not
stay within your family. These heirlooms will be sold, and the proceeds
distributed rather than passing down to your family members.
The estate cannot be distributed until one year after your death. Some of
your beneficiaries may experience financial hardship in the meantime, especially
after payment of funeral expenses.
You'll lose the opportunity to take advantage of any legal, tax or estate
planning techniques that would have sped up the distribution of assets to your
beneficiaries.
