Estate Planning Express 2026 - 25 Minute Topics


Course Date: April 9, 2026

Full Course Materials
Total: 5h 37min
Total Ethics: 1h
Course Agenda ▼
Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)
 
Nadia Myerthall — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Geoffrey W. White, KC — Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation & Counsel, Clark Wilson LLP, Kelowna & Vancouver
 
Section 132—Administration in Special Circumstances (9:10 – 9:35)
 
  • so you can't wait for a grant of probate
    • how can a s. 132 special appointment help
  • have recent cases limited the scope?
Roger D. Lee — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
 
Question Period (9:35 – 9:45)
 
Section 58—Paige v. Noel (9:45 – 10:10)
 
  • so you're doing "self-help" estate planning
    • do your fixed and final wishes matter?
  • Paige v. Noel, 2025 BCCA 358
  • is BC now a "partial substantial compliance" jurisdiction?
  • is my fixed and final wish not enough?
  • must there be a "Will"?
  • do "impermanent" records qualify anymore?
Gordon Behan — Behan Estate and Trust Litigation, Vancouver
 
Question Period (10:10 – 10:20)
 
Advances and Hotchpot (10:20 – 10:45)
 
  • so you're helping your child buy a house
    • tips for tracking and adjusting advances and hotchpot
  • what rules may apply if there is no planning?
  • do past-limitation period debts matter? Cherry v. Boultbee (1839)
Katie Taylor — DLA Piper (Canada) LLP, Vancouver
 
Question Period (10:45 – 10:55)
 
BREAK (10:55 – 11:05)
 
Trustee Discretion (11:05 – 11:30)
 
  • so you want to rule from the grave
    • the limits of trustee discretion
  • how much discretion can your drafting achieve?
  • what should trustees be advised when making decisions?
Scott Kerwin — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
 
Question Period (11:30 – 11:40)
 
Gifts of Survivorship (11:40 – 12:05)
 
  • so you want to avoid probate but don't want a trust
    • the gift of survivorship if you must—risks and creative use 
  • is it possible to use the gift of survivorship with less risk?
Stanley Rule — Sabey Rule LLP, Kelowna
 
Question Period (12:05 – 12:15)
 
LUNCH (12:15 – 12:55)
 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) (12:55 – 1:20)
 
  • so you can't retire before AI steals your job
    • adapting for AI in an estates practice
  • practical examples of how AI is, and will likely be, used in an estates law practice
Ian Hull — Hull & Hull LLP, Toronto
Suzana Popovic-Montag — Hull & Hull LLP, Toronto
 
Question Period (1:20 – 1:30)
 
Digital Assets and Cryptocurrency (1:30 – 1:55)
 
  • so you're an influencer and a crypto-millionaire
    • protecting the value of digital/online content, crypto, and virtual businesses
Dwight D. Dee — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver
 
Question Period (1:55 – 2:05)
 
Estate Planning for Farms (2:05 – 2:30)
 
  • so you're a farmer
    • why typical estate planning may not work for farms
  • practical tips for estate planning for farmers—incorporation, ownership of quota and other assets by company, farm management succession, financial viability of the farm, and lead time for planning
  • tax breaks for inter-generational transfer of farms
  • what about the off-farm children?
Todd C. Harvey — Baker Newby LLP, Chilliwack
 
Question Period (2:30 – 2:40)
 
BREAK (2:40 – 2:50)
 
Wills Variation—Unequal Division for Children (2:50 – 3:15)
 
  • so you want to give your child less but don't want a trust
    • when unequal becomes too unequal
  • current ranges of wills variation awards
  • at what point can your client no longer "get away with" just a Will? 
Aubrie Girou — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
 
Question Period (3:15 – 3:25)
 
Getting Ready for Death (3:25 – 3:50)
 
  • so you are going to see this file again
    • how not to make your estate administration paralegal hate you
  • record keeping
  • passwords
  • planning for estate administration issues
    • track beneficiaries and needed information
    • the cash poor estate
      • upkeep of property
      • beneficiaries in need
  • the "child in the basement"
Braeden J. Rahn — Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation & Clark Wilson LLP, Kelowna & Vancouver
 
Question Period (3:50 – 4:00)
 
Concluding Remarks (4:00 – 4:05)
 
Geoffrey W. White, KC — Geoffrey W. White Law Corporation & Counsel, Clark Wilson LLP, Kelowna & Vancouver