Estate planning · Fees
Flat fees for the documents most BC families need — wills, powers of attorney, representation agreements, and the full estate plan bundles that combine them. Plus probate and estate administration.
Wills
Single will — basic
One will-maker; direct beneficiary structure; no trust provisions.
$1,000
Mirror wills — couple
Two parallel wills for spouses; symmetrical structure.
$1,500
Corporate will
Will dealing specifically with shares and corporate-held assets, often paired with a personal will.
$2,000
Codicil — to our own will
Update an existing will Lime Law drafted.
$350
Codicil — to another lawyer's will
Update an existing will from a different firm.
$500
Spousal codicils
Two paired codicils for couple.
$500
Will re-draft — our original
Major changes to a will Lime Law previously drafted.
$500
Powers of attorney & representation agreements
Single power of attorney
Single POA under BC's Power of Attorney Act.
$600
Single representation agreement (Section 9)
Single section-9 RA under BC's Representation Agreement Act.
$600
Advance directive
Standalone advance health-care directive.
$600
Estate plan bundles
Single estate plan — Will + POA + RA
Three documents bundled for one client.
$1,650
Spousal estate plan — Mirror wills + 2 POAs + 2 RAs
Six documents bundled for couple.
$2,000
Wills bundle for business owners
Estate plan bundle including a corporate will (for shareholders or business owners).
$2,500
Trusts
Inter vivos / family trust settlement
Trust deed, initial settlement, trustee and beneficiary documentation.
$1,500
Henson / disability trust
Trust for a disabled beneficiary preserving provincial disability benefits.
$1,500
Probate & estate administration
Grant of probate (with will)
Probate application where a valid will exists.
$3,500
Grant of administration (no will)
Application for grant of administration where there is no will.
$3,750
Estate administration
Post-grant work: paying debts, distributing assets, final accounting.
$6,000
Transmission of title to executor
Land Title Office transmission of registered property to the executor.
$1,200
Transmission + subsequent transfer to beneficiaries
Two-step: title to executor, then to beneficiaries.
$2,000
A separate line item
BC charges separate probate fees on the gross value of the estate that passes through probate — payable to the BC Supreme Court Probate Registry, not to us. The fee is calculated on a tiered basis under the Probate Fee Act: nothing on the first $25,000, a $200 base fee, plus 0.6% on the value between $25,000 and $50,000 and 1.4% on the value above $50,000. On a $1 million estate, total probate fees are roughly $13,650. The fee is paid out of the estate at the time of filing.
Quoted on the file
The fees above cover the most common estate-planning and post-death work. Some matters are not amenable to flat fees and we quote them on the file at intake. Examples: complex blended-family planning, multi-jurisdictional estates, contested estates, wills variation claims and defences (under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act), and other contested estate litigation. Please contact us for a quote on the specific facts.
How we structure billing
For routine estate planning — wills, powers of attorney, representation agreements, the full bundles, and standard probate applications — flat fees are predictable on both sides. The work is well-defined and the time it takes is well-understood.
For contested estate work — wills variation claims and defences, disputes between beneficiaries and executors, multi-jurisdictional estates, contested administration files — we work hourly with a written budget for each phase of the file. The budget gets updated when scope changes, and we bill monthly against it so you always know where things stand.
We do not run the meter without a plan, on any file.
Tell us the basics — single or couple, whether minor or vulnerable beneficiaries are involved, and whether business interests are in the picture — and we'll come back with the right bundle and a turnaround time.