The properly drawn and executed will your loved one leaves on passing is their final word on everything in their power. It guides your grieving family on how to distribute all they possess and instructs you on their choices regarding a funeral, cremation, memorial or celebration of life. For the professional funeral directors at Richmond based, Can-Trust Funerals Ltd., a will is critical to the service they provide in helping families in the Lower Mainland meet both their responsibilities to the deceased and to meet the legal requirements of British Columbia.
This is what you need to know about why a will is one of the first documents a licenced funeral service provider will ask for when it is time to make funeral arrangements:
Duty to verify legal responsibility.
Your funeral director must verify who is legally responsible for the deceased and who is legally responsible to be making the arrangements.
The will makes it clear who can act in accordance with the will to close the affairs and carry out final considerations for the deceased.
What documents must be requested
Not all the pages of the will must be disclosed. The funeral services provider is not interested in all the details of the distributions.
What they need to see are the pages stating executorship and signatures, as well as the executor’s ID. The funeral director with photo copy the necessary documents for their files and then proceed to the funeral arrangements.
What can be done in the absence of a will?
There is no substitution for a will with clear instructions. It can save a grieving family a great deal of turmoil, yet what if there is no will?
A professional funeral director can arrange the cremation, celebration of life, memorial or funeral the family wishes, even in the absence of a will.
Someone must step forward.
It can be family member – surviving spouse, child or an appointed executor that may or may not also be a relative. In BC the priority listing of the legal representative when no personal representative is named, is extensive and very specific.
Can-Trust-Funeral’s team of professional funeral directors follow the Funeral Services Act closely. The section of the act that recognizes who has the right to control the disposition of a loved ones’ remains is found here.
At Can-Trust-Funerals we have seen what happens when people put off writing a will because there is no urgency. Yet, life unfolds. There may be illness and death following or a sudden loss through an accident or extreme illness with little time to make final wishes known.
You may find these additional resources in BC’s legal Acts helpful to know or to plan ahead:
- 23 (5) of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act;
- If the minister under the Employment and Assistance Act, or if the Public Guardian and Trustee is administering the estate of the deceased under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, the Public Guardian and Trustee;
We are here to help. Can-Trust-Funerals Ltd. provides reliable, straightforward and affordable service, and with compassion, always.
Before you engage with any funeral homes, please call Can-Trust-Funeral at 604-376-7975 or email to book a free professional consultation. You are never obligated.
Can-Trust’s team of licensed funeral directors, provide funeral services in Burnaby, funeral services in Richmond, Vancouver and throughout the Lower Mainland.
Phone: 604-376-7975
E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com
WeChat: Cantrustfuneral
Visit us online for more information.
