Estate Planning Update 2026

Course Chair
Genevieve N. Taylor — Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver

About the Course Chair
Genevieve Taylor is a principal at Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers who practices in the areas of wills, estates, trusts, and adult guardianship. She works in all aspects of estate planning and administration, including the preparation of wills, powers of attorney, representation agreements, and inter vivos trusts, as well as applications for probate and letters of administration.

Genevieve has authored and co-authored a number of papers on wills, estates, trusts, and adult guardianship, and is a frequent speaker on these topics. Genevieve taught Succession at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC for three years.

Online Moderator
Allison Sharkey — Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver

Faculty
Georgia Barnard — Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Peter J. Glowacki — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Amanda M. James — Apna Law LLP, Burnaby
Helen H. Low, KC — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Kate S. Marples — Legacy Tax + Trust Lawyers, Vancouver
Alison Oxtoby — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Melissa Perry — Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Vancouver
Ingrid M. Tsui — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

Course Material Contributor
Christy Tang — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

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British Columbia Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation

Create effective estate plans that fulfill your clients' wealth preservation goals

This publication is essential for: practitioners looking for estate planning guidance, including tax advice and sample trusts, to address a diverse range of client needs

Current to: March 15, 2025

The legal profession is experiencing the largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history. BC Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation is your comprehensive guide to effective estate planning techniques for complicated portfolios. Focused on tax-based planning in BC, this manual is designed to accompany Wills and Personal Planning Precedents: An Annotated Guide by providing commentary and annotated forms to equip you to create trusts and other wealth preservation tools to complement your client's will.

With this resource, you will be able to:

• determine a sensible approach for your clients' estate planning needs
  
• create practical estate plans to preserve your clients' and their families' wealth
  
• confidently handle a wide range of client estate portfolios and assets

View a sample from this book!

The 2025 Update reflects new case law, legislation, and practice, including:

• cases, legislation, and commentary brought current to March 15, 2025
• inclusion of information and commentary from recent tax conferences and roundtables
• up-to-date discussion of the tax regime related to reportable and notifiable transactions in the context of tax, trust, and estate planning
• coverage of the existing and proposed changes to the general anti-avoidance rule, the tax payable on intergenerational transfers of businesses, and the AMT tax regime
• updated discussion of specific realty taxes relating to foreign buyers, speculation and vacancy, underused housing, and federal and provincial "anti-flipping" rules
• revised forms and precedents

• changing definitions of family: who qualifies as a spouse or child?
• curative powers under WESA: refining the limits of ss. 58 and 59
• trustee accountability: disclosure obligations and personal consequences
• key legislative developments affecting estate and trust planning

• drafting developments based on recent case law
• estate administration: tips and traps to consider in drafting estate planning documents
• the aging population: capacity and planning involving later in life spousal relationships
• some comments on the use of artificial intelligence

• identifying issues
• planning options
• when to involve others

• what happens to family law claims on death?
• discretionary trusts and family law claims
• child/spousal support obligations and the estate
• planning for succession for guardianship/parental responsibilities on death
• family law agreements and death

• the current availability of MAiD and eligibility requirements
• who is accessing MAiD in practice
• anticipated legislative developments
• consent and capacity issues
• how planners can react when a client is going to receive MAiD

• considerations for release of documents held in safekeeping after incapacity or death—does it make a difference if the matter is contentious?
• can you act for an individual and their various family members such as: second spouse, separated spouse who was formerly your client, child or other beneficiary under the individual’s estate plan?
• considerations where there is a joint retainer after incapacity and death
• solicitor obligations where capacity is in issue—assessing client's capacity and addressing duties if a committeeship is brought
• best practices for a solicitor where estate plan is likely to be contested