Parent changed the will shortly before death: your options in BC

By Pardeep S. Grewal, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation · Reviewed November 11, 2026

Published November 12, 2026

Pardeep S. Grewal is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2024, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Updated November 11, 2026: the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (ss. 52, 60, 61) and the court decisions cited below checked that day.

A will signed in the last weeks or months of someone’s life, often while they were ill, in hospital, or living with one family member, that cuts out people who were in earlier wills, is one of the most common reasons families come to us. In BC there are two separate routes, and many cases use both. The first is to challenge the new will’s validity: that the will-maker lacked the mental capacity to make a will, didn’t know and approve of what it said, or was unduly influenced. If that succeeds, the earlier will, or the no-will rules, apply instead. The second, open to a spouse or child, is a wills variation claim: even if the new will is valid, the court can vary it if it doesn’t make adequate, just and equitable provision for you. Timing matters for both. A notice of dispute can prevent a grant of probate on the new will while evidence is gathered, and the wills variation claim must be started within 180 days of the grant.

Lawgical Law Corporation, a probate and estate litigation law firm with offices in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, acts for families challenging late-life wills and for those defending them; this guide is by Pardeep S. Grewal.

Book a consultation about contesting a will TapClick to open a short form. Our team will contact you to arrange a time.Short form, 4 quick fields Open form

The two routes compared

How validity challenges work

• The person relying on the will must prove it was properly signed, that the will-maker knew and approved its contents, and had capacity.
• Once proper signing is shown, capacity and knowledge are presumed, but that presumption falls away if there’s evidence of suspicious circumstances: about how the will was prepared, the will-maker’s capacity, or pressure on them.
• Undue influence: under WESA s. 52, if you show another person was in a position where the potential for dependence or domination was present, the burden shifts to them to show they didn’t use undue influence.

See undue influence and invalid wills.

Common suspicious circumstances

• A will made during a serious illness, after a dementia diagnosis, or on strong medication.
• The main beneficiary found the lawyer, attended the meeting, or gave the instructions.
• A sudden departure from a long pattern of earlier wills.
• The will-maker was isolated from other family members.
• A will signed in a language the will-maker didn’t read well, without proper interpretation.

Evidence that matters

• Medical records from the period the will was made.
• The drafting lawyer’s file: where the will-maker’s intentions are in question, the lawyer who took instructions can generally be required to give evidence about them.
• Earlier wills, to show the pattern.
• Witnesses who saw the will-maker around that time.

Stopping probate of the new will

If probate hasn’t been granted yet, filing a notice of dispute generally prevents a grant for a period while the dispute is dealt with. It’s usually simpler to stop a grant than to have one revoked later. See the probate notice.

Mistakes I have seen

• Waiting until after probate, then trying to undo it.
• Bringing only a validity challenge, losing it, and having missed the 180-day wills variation deadline.
• Not requesting medical records and the lawyer’s file early.
• Assuming a lawyer-drafted will can’t be challenged.

Frequently asked questions

My mother had dementia. Is her new will automatically invalid?

No. A dementia diagnosis doesn’t automatically mean a person lacked capacity to make a will; the question is her capacity when she made it, and the medical evidence is key.

Can I bring both claims at once?

Yes. A spouse or child can challenge validity and, in the alternative, ask for the will to be varied.

What if the earlier will also left me out?

Then a validity challenge may not help you, but a wills variation claim may, if you’re a spouse or child.

What should I do right now?

Find out whether probate has been applied for or granted, collect earlier wills, and note who was involved in making the new one.

We take suitable wills variation claims and will challenges on contingency, so you don’t need savings to bring one. See how to pay for a will challenge.

Book a consultation with our estate litigation lawyers in Surrey, Abbotsford or Vancouver. See also contesting a will in BC.

Ready to book? Open the booking form ↑

Sources

• Wills, Estates and Succession Act (ss. 52, 60, 61), BC Laws
• Vout v. Hay, 1995 CanLII 105 (SCC); Gordon v. Gilroy, 1994 CanLII 829 (BC SC), as discussed in CLE BC, Estate Disputes in British Columbia: A Litigator’s Guide, §§7.12, 7.13, 10.28

This article is general information about BC law, not legal advice for your situation.