Executors – Shop around for your probate lawyer
- Explaining the reality that executors tend to hire the lawyer where the will is located to do the probate work without shopping around
- Explaining that achieving the estate grant (probate) is an administrative procedure that can be done without a lawyer – recommending that executors shop around
Key executor advice: shop around for a probate lawyer.
It’s also key life advice. When making an expensive purchase, choosing a career path or finding a life partner we shouldn’t jump into the first option that presents itself. It’s wise to weigh pros and cons of relevant factors to achieve an optimal choice.
It used to be that a lawyer drafting a will could include a clause requiring the executor to retain that lawyer to do the probate work after the will-maker passed away.
A couple of serious problems with that!
One is that when drafting a will, the lawyer’s sole concern should be their client’s best interests – not their own!
Another problem: What is likely to happen to the cost of a service if you have no alternative but to use a specified service provider?
That questionable practice is no longer allowed, thanks to the Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (the “BC Code”), which has been referred to as the primary ethical guide for BC lawyers.
Section 3.4-37 of the BC Code:
“3.4-37 A lawyer must not include in a client’s will a clause directing the executor to retain the lawyer’s services in the administration of the client’s estate.”
But there is still a common practice among lawyers that often leads to the same result, i.e. the executor coming to the law firm where the will was prepared and engaging their probate services without looking at alternatives.
The law firm that prepares the will typically locks it away in their fireproof safe.
There’s nothing ethically wrong with that.
It’s a helpful service. the will-maker doesn’t have to maintain a safe-deposit box, or acquire their own fireproof safe. They can rest assured that nothing will happen to their will.
But the result is the executor coming to that same law firm after the will-maker has died because the original will is required for probate.
The executor is entitled to take the original will and shop around for a probate lawyer to make an informed choice. But they’re unlikely to.
How do I know that?
My firm ranks highly on Google searches. I’m also reasonably well-known because of this column. And I won the “Best of Kelowna” popularity contest for 2025 in the lawyer category.
I get lots of inquiries for price quotes for making a will. I get very few from executors shopping around for probate lawyers.
Between the two types of legal services, it makes more sense to hire a probate lawyer based on a price quote than an estate planning lawyer.
The work of obtaining probate is largely administrative. Notices are issued, inquiries made and forms are filled out and filed. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys putting together Ikea furniture and has some experience working within administrative systems, it’s work that can be done without a lawyer at all.
I’ve written a series of columns to help do-it-yourselfers navigate probate procedures. If you have trouble finding it, let me know and I’ll direct you.
Estate planning is far more of a “get what you pay for” service.
If your goal is a “legal will”, you can follow basic instructions I’ve given in previous columns and accomplish your goal without paying a dime. But if you want to learn about how to optimally arrange your affairs and end up with a will and/or other estate planning documentation that will best ensure your wishes are followed, a price quote should not be the most important factor.
Executors: Don’t let convenience dictate your choice. Retrieve the original will, get competitive quotes and select a lawyer who offers value, availability and efficiency. Your beneficiaries will thank you.
