Wills and Personal Planning Precedents: An Annotated Guide

Draft wills that your clients can understand

This publication is essential for: all lawyers who draft wills in British Columbia.

Current to: February 1, 2015

Immensely popular since it was first published in 1998, this collection of sample will clauses and documents includes representation agreements and many other BC-focused precedents. Peter W. Bogardus, QC, and Mary B. Hamilton and Sadie L. Wetzel of Davis LLP have created a book of wills precedents that your clients can understand. The annotations and commentary explain the use of optional clauses and alert you to the relevant law.

The book includes precedents for wills, nominations of committee, powers of attorney, representation agreements, codicils, insurance declarations, and other documents. It also includes will instruction questionnaires and forms, sample letters, and clauses on disk. The book is updated regularly. Subscriptions include online access with search capability and links to the full text of case law and legislation, and clauses on CD-ROM.

A recently added feature to the book's online version is the document builder. This newest feature allows users to select desired clauses, create complete document templates, save the templates for future use, and download the complete document to the user's computer.

ONLINE ONLY annual subscriptions include convenient online access with search capability, links to the full text of cases and legislation, downloadable forms and precedents, a document builder and regular updates. Subscribe now.

Highlights of the 2015 update

• new title and larger binder to reflect the expanded scope of the book
• new commentary and revised clauses for recent tax developments (e.g., graduated rate estates, joint liability for tax, qualified disability trusts)
• updates to clauses to incorporate practice in the first year under the WESA
• new annotated clauses and trust precedents, including §3.5A (sole executor with two alternates), §14.2A (outright gift payable in 36 months), §16.5A (outright gift and subsequent division after spousal trust), §16.20A (sprinkling trust for children), §19.14E (charitable donations), §20.6A (body donation), §39.3 (letter enclosing draft documents)
• revisions to execution clauses (for the WESA), and registered plan clauses
• expanded coverage of joint representation in chapter 39; also other significant updates to commentary in several chapters
• all chapters and features of the book brought current to February 1, 2015

CLEBC Legal Editor
Jonathan M. Vogt
jvogt@cle.bc.ca

Other Documents
22. Codicil
23. Revocation of Will
24. Memorandum of Articles
25. Insurance Declarations (Separate Documents)
26. RRSP/RRIF/TFSA Designations (Separate Documents)
26A. TFSA Designations (Separate Documents)
27. Wills for First Nations Persons
28. Enduring Powers of Attorney
29. Nominations of Committee
30. Representation Agreement—Enhanced Powers for Health and Personal Care (s. 9)
31. Advance Directives for Health Care (Personal Declarations and Other Wishes)
32. Representation Agreement—General Powers (s. 7)
33. Division of Household Goods and Personal Effects

Questionnaires and Forms
34. Information Questionnaire for Wills and Estate Planning
35. Power of Attorney Questionnaire
36. Nomination of Committee Questionnaire
37. Representation Agreement Questionnaire
38. Internal Instruction Form for Wills and Estate Planning

Letters and Checklists
39. Retainer Letter and Letter Enclosing Drafts
40. Letter to Clients Enclosing Original Documents for Execution
41. Instructions for Executing a Will
42. Report Letter
43. Will Reminder Form
44. Letter to Insurance Company
45. Letter to RRSP/RRIF Planholder
45A. Letter to TFSA Planholder
46. Reminder Letter
47. Reporting Checklist—After Execution
48. Checklist to Close a Will File

Sample Wills
49. Simple "Death Bed" Will
50. Sample Will
50A. British Columbia Will

Will Clauses for Multiple Executors and Trustees
Note: the following chapters appear only in the online version of the book. These chapters are identical to chapters 1 – 21, except that the clauses contemplate a will which appoints more than a single executor and trustee.

51. Introductory Clauses
52. Definitions
53. Executors
54. Guardians
55. Insurance Declarations (Within the Will)
56. RRSP/RRIF/TFSA Designations (Within the Will)
56A. TFSA Designations
57. Administration
58. Debts
59. Real Estate
59A. Corporate Interests
60. Articles
60A. Plans (RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, TFSAs, and Rewards)
61. Advances, Loans, and Forgiveness of Debt
62. Cash Gifts and Funds
63. Residue
64. Residue—Outright Gifts
65. Residue—Miscellaneous Preambles—Most Common Trust Provisions for Children
66. Residue—Trusts
67. Residue—Discretionary Trusts for Life for the Disabled Beneficiary
68. Residue—If All Else Fails
69. Powers of Trustees
70. Funeral Wishes
71. Execution

Features

• complete set of clauses on disk
• checklists
• regular updates
• tables of cases, statutes, and references
• comprehensive index
• online access to electronic version with hyperlinks to primary law
• document builder

About the Authors
Peter W. Bogardus, QC practiced law with Davis & Company (now DLA Piper (Canada) LLP) from 1968 to 2011. He has more than 40 years’ experience in matters relating to wills, trusts, and estate administration. He has held senior positions with the Wills and Trusts section of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, became a member of the Estate Planning Council of Vancouver in 1978, and was elected Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 1990. He was a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of the British Columbia Probate and Estate Administration Practice Manual (1989–2011) and British Columbia Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation (2006–2011) for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia.

Mary B. Hamilton graduated from Dalhousie University Law School and was called to the BC bar in 1987. She has over 25 years’ experience in wills, trusts, and estate administration matters, practicing with Davis LLP (with a three-year interval doing planned giving and estate administration at the University of BC). She has held senior positions with the Wills and Trusts section of the BC Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, is a life member of the Estate Planning Council of Vancouver, and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of the British Columbia Probate and Estate Administration Practice Manual and British Columbia Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia. 
 
Sadie L. Wetzel graduated from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law and was called to the BC bar in 2000. Sadie is associate counsel with Davis LLP where she has practiced with the tax, wills, estates and trust group for over 15 years. She regularly speaks to client groups and to the public on wills, estate planning, trusts, incapacity, and provincial and federal disability benefits. Sadie has been a guest speaker for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, the Pacific Business & Law Institute, and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and has been a guest instructor for the Professional Legal Training Course of the Law Society of BC. She is a contributing author to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act Transition Guide, looseleaf and online (Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, 2010).