Two executors instead of one feels safer. In BC estates, it sometimes is and sometimes is not. A practical look at co-executor decisions and what to do about deadlock.
Choosing an executor is one of the most consequential decisions in drafting a BC will. The executor is the person who applies for probate, manages the estate’s assets, pays its debts, files its tax returns, and ultimately distributes the estate to the beneficiaries. The choice affects how quickly the estate moves, how much it costs, and how often the family ends up at odds.
Many BC will-makers default to naming co-executors — two adult children, two siblings, a spouse and an adult child — under the reasoning that two people working together will provide a check on each other and reduce the risk of error or misconduct. Sometimes that reasoning is right. Sometimes it produces a slower, more expensive, and more contentious estate than naming a single executor would have. Below is what actually decides whether co-executors make sense.
Under BC’s Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), co-executors must generally act jointly. Both must sign documents, both must agree to decisions, both must consent to distributions. Joint action protects against unilateral conduct by one executor — but it also creates the risk of paralysis when the two cannot agree.
A will can override the default in defined ways: it can permit either executor to act alone in routine matters, give one executor priority over the other on specific decisions, or set up a tie-breaking mechanism. But absent specific language, the default is unanimous action.
Co-executors can be a good fit when:
The executors are genuinely aligned. Two siblings who have a long history of working well together, who agree on the broad approach to the estate, and who have similar views on what their parent would have wanted are likely to administer an estate cleanly. The dual signature requirement adds modest administrative friction without slowing things down.
Different executors bring different skills. One child with financial sophistication and one with deep knowledge of the family business, or one in BC and one out of province, can divide the work in useful ways. The will can grant each executor primary responsibility for the matters they are best suited to.
The will divides the estate cleanly. When the will gives each beneficiary a clearly defined share with no ambiguity (e.g., 50/50 to two children, no contested gifts, no specific bequests requiring valuation), the executors have less to disagree about. The risk of deadlock is lower because there are fewer decisions to deadlock on.
There is a backup mechanism. A well-drafted will with co-executors usually includes provisions for what happens if they disagree — a tie-breaking executor, an arbitration mechanism, or a default rule that the eldest decides. These mechanisms can prevent a small disagreement from becoming an estate-paralysing dispute.
Co-executors are riskier when:
The executors have a history of conflict. Two siblings who do not trust each other, who have unresolved childhood disputes, or who have business disagreements predating the parent’s death are unlikely to cooperate cleanly on an estate. Naming both as co-executors gives the estate a built-in adversary.
The will treats beneficiaries unequally. A will that gives 60% to one child and 40% to another, or that includes specific bequests to friends or charities, generates valuation and timing disputes. If the executors are also the beneficiaries (the typical case in BC family estates), each executor has a direct financial interest in the disputed valuations.
The estate has complex assets. A family business, multiple real estate properties, art and collectibles, foreign assets, or a closely-held investment portfolio all require difficult valuation decisions. Co-executors often disagree on whether to sell, when to sell, and at what price.
One executor is significantly more capable than the other. An estate where one executor is a CPA and the other has limited business experience puts the more capable executor in the position of either doing all the work and seeking the other’s signature, or watching the other executor make slow and uninformed decisions. Both outcomes generate friction.
The executors live far apart. Practical estate work — going to the bank, collecting mail, securing the home, meeting with the accountant — is harder when one executor is in BC and the other is in Ontario, or in another country. Joint signature requirements that add days for couriering documents become a constant friction.
A genuine deadlock between co-executors is one of the more painful problems in BC estate work. When the two executors cannot agree on a major decision — selling the family home, distributing a contested asset, defending or settling a wills variation claim — the estate cannot move forward. Documents do not get signed. Assets do not get sold. Beneficiaries do not get paid.
The remedy is to apply to the BC Supreme Court for directions or for the removal of one or both executors. The court has broad authority under WESA to resolve administrative deadlocks, but the application is expensive (legal fees easily $20,000+, paid by the estate), public, and slow. By the time the deadlock makes it to court, the family relationships are usually beyond repair.
The application also tends to be triggered by a beneficiary running out of patience and forcing the issue, which means the cost is often borne by the beneficiaries themselves, who have already been waiting months or years for their inheritance.
For most simple BC estates — modest assets, two or three beneficiaries, no contested provisions — a single executor with a named alternate is the cleanest structure. The single executor administers the estate without consultation requirements; the alternate steps in if the primary cannot or will not act.
Where the family clearly wants co-executors for emotional or relational reasons (giving each adult child equal status), a single executor with a “consulting” role for the second sibling — included in major decisions but not required to sign — is often the sensible compromise. We can draft the will to recognise that consultation expectation without imposing the joint-signature legal requirement.
Where co-executors are genuinely the right choice, the will should include:
These provisions add complexity to the will. They also dramatically reduce the risk of estate paralysis if the relationship between the executors deteriorates after the will-maker’s death.
For estates where family executors are likely to be unwilling, conflicted, or overwhelmed, a professional executor — a trust company or, in some cases, a lawyer or accountant — is an option. Professional executors charge fees (typically 3% to 5% of the estate, sometimes more for complex files), but they provide neutral, experienced administration. The fees come out of the estate before distribution.
For most BC estates, family executors handle the work well. But for high-value, complex, or contested estates, the cost of a professional executor is often less than the cost of family executors who deadlock or get sued.
When we draft a will, we walk through the executor question carefully. The conversation usually involves:
There is no single right answer. The right answer is whichever structure the estate is most likely to be administered well under. Contact us if you are putting a will together — or if you have an existing will where the executor question deserves a second look.
Written by Lime Law Corporation. This article is general information about BC law as of May 6, 2026. It is not legal advice. If you have a specific matter, contact us — and please do not rely on a blog post in place of advice on your file.
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