BC Form P2, Submission for Estate Grant: Package, Fees, and Review

Form P2, the Submission for Estate Grant, is the document filed with the British Columbia Supreme Court to obtain legal authority over a deceased person’s estate. You can download it from the BC government’s probate forms page or pick up a copy at any Supreme Court registry. Before you file, you must deliver a separate notice (Form P1) to every person the rules require you to notify and wait at least 21 days. The submission itself is only the last step of a longer preparation.

Send Form P1 and Wait 21 Days First

You cannot file Form P2 until at least 21 days after delivering a Form P1 notice of proposed application to everyone entitled to receive it.1BC Laws. Supreme Court Civil Rules – Rule 25-2 The waiting period gives those people a chance to review the application and object if they wish. Skipping or shortening this step is one of the fastest ways to have a submission rejected.

Form P1 must go to:

  • Every beneficiary named in the will.
  • Anyone who would inherit on an intestacy — spouse, children, parents, or siblings depending on the situation.
  • Any named executor or alternate whose right to apply is at least equal to yours.
  • The spouse and children of the deceased.
  • A Treaty First Nation or the Nisga’a Lisims Government, if the deceased was a member or citizen.
  • The Public Guardian and Trustee, if any person entitled to notice is a minor or a mentally incapable adult.

You do not send a Form P1 to yourself. Keep clear records of when and how each notice was delivered, because you will swear to that delivery later in Form P9.

What Form P2 Itself Asks For

Form P2 is short compared to the affidavits that accompany it. It captures the identifying information the court uses to open and categorize the estate file. Every field must match the death certificate and other legal records exactly. Discrepancies get the file pulled for review.

You will provide:

  • The deceased’s full legal name, including any aliases or alternate names that appear on property titles, bank accounts, or other assets.
  • Date of death.
  • The deceased’s last residential address.
  • Your name and contact information as applicant.
  • The type of grant you are requesting: grant of probate, grant of administration with will annexed, grant of administration without will annexed, or an ancillary grant.2BC Laws. Supreme Court Civil Rules – Rule 25-1 Definitions
  • The registry location where you are filing.

The grant type you select on P2 determines which applicant affidavit you attach. If the deceased left a valid will and you are the named executor, you are applying for a grant of probate and use Form P3 or P4. If there is a will but you are not named as executor, you apply for a grant of administration with will annexed, again using P3 or P4. If there is no will, you apply for a grant of administration without will annexed and use Form P5.

Choosing Between Form P3 and Form P4

Form P3 is the short-form applicant affidavit, available when the estate meets the straightforward conditions in Rule 25-3(6). Form P4 is the long form, required when the estate does not qualify for the short form.3BC Laws. Supreme Court Civil Rules – Rule 25-3(2)

In practice, P4 is used when there are potential issues with the will: irregular witnessing, alterations, multiple wills, or provisions that need closer attention from the court. A cleanly executed will with no complications fits P3. When in doubt, use the long form. The court will not reject an application for using P4 where P3 would have been enough.

The Full Filing Package

Rule 25-3(2) lists everything that must accompany Form P2. Missing even one item triggers a deficiency notice and delay.4BC Laws. Supreme Court Civil Rules – Rule 25-3 The complete package:

  • Form P2, the submission for estate grant.
  • The applicant’s affidavit on Form P3, P4, P5, P6, or P7, depending on the type of grant and whether the short-form process applies.
  • Form P8, if two or more people are applying together. Every co-applicant who did not swear the main affidavit files a separate supporting affidavit.
  • Two copies of a Vital Statistics Agency certificate showing the results of a wills notice search for the deceased.
  • Form P9, one or more affidavits confirming that Form P1 was delivered to every person entitled to receive it.
  • Form P10 or P11, the affidavit of assets and liabilities. P10 applies where the deceased was domiciled in BC; P11 applies to non-domiciled situations.
  • The original signed will, not a photocopy. If the original is lost, a copy of the will plus an explanation of what happened to the original.
  • Form P12, an affidavit of translator, for any document in the package that is not in English.
  • Form P17, a notice of renunciation signed by any named executor who has chosen not to act.

Most applications stumble here. The three most common reasons for deficiency notices are outdated forms, missing documents (especially the original will or the Vital Statistics certificate), and incomplete sections in the affidavits. Check every attachment against this list before you go to the registry.

Preparing Form P10: Assets and Liabilities

Form P10 requires a thorough inventory of everything the deceased owned in British Columbia and all debts owed by the estate. The court uses this document to calculate probate fees, so accuracy matters legally and financially. List real property at fair market value as of the date of death, along with bank account balances, investment accounts, vehicles, and any other assets held in the deceased’s name alone.

Jointly held property with a right of survivorship passes outside the estate and is generally not included. The same goes for assets with named beneficiaries, such as life insurance policies and registered retirement plans, which transfer directly to the beneficiary without going through probate.5BC Laws. Probate Fee Act Getting this distinction right significantly affects the probate fees the estate owes.

Filing Fees and Probate Fees

Two separate costs apply when you file. The first is the court filing fee of $200, payable when you submit the package. If the total estate value does not exceed $25,000, no filing fee is required.6BC Laws. Supreme Court Civil Rules – Schedule 1 Fees

The second is the probate fee calculated under the Probate Fee Act, based on the gross value of the estate in British Columbia:5BC Laws. Probate Fee Act

  • $25,000 or less: no probate fee.
  • $25,001 to $50,000: $6 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) over $25,000.
  • Over $50,000: the amount from the bracket above, plus $14 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) over $50,000.

The “or part of $1,000” wording matters. An estate valued at $50,500 has that extra $500 treated as a full $1,000 for calculation purposes. On a $500,000 estate the probate fee is $150 on the $25,001–$50,000 portion plus $6,300 on the portion over $50,000, totaling $6,450, on top of the $200 filing fee. Certified copies of the grant cost roughly $40 each, and you will likely need several for banks and land title transfers.

Where and How to File

File the completed package at any BC Supreme Court registry. Each registry maintains its own files, so future correspondence about the estate goes through whichever registry you choose. Most people file at the registry closest to where the deceased lived or where the estate’s major assets are located, but no strict rule ties you to a particular location.

You can file in person at the registry counter or submit documents electronically through Court Services Online.7Province of British Columbia. Submit Court Documents and Forms Electronic filing may carry a small per-package fee. Either way, the registry assigns a court file number that becomes the permanent reference for the estate. Keep the receipt or confirmation, because you will need the file number for every interaction with the court going forward.

Review, Deficiency Notices, and the Grant

Once the registry receives the package, a clerk reviews it for completeness and compliance with the Supreme Court Civil Rules. The clerk checks for technical errors, missing signatures, inconsistencies between the will and the affidavits, and whether all required forms are present. If something is wrong, you receive a deficiency notice listing the corrections needed.

Processing times typically run four to eight weeks, though complex estates or busy registries can extend that to several months. After the review is complete and probate fees are paid, the court issues the estate grant, the formal order authorizing you to act on behalf of the estate. Banks, land title offices, and other institutions will require a certified copy before releasing assets.

When Form P2 May Not Be Needed at All

Not every estate requires a grant. If the deceased’s assets were all jointly held with a right of survivorship, or all had named beneficiaries, those assets transfer automatically and there is nothing for the court to authorize. Many financial institutions will release funds without a grant if the total estate value is under roughly $25,000, though each institution sets its own threshold and some are stricter. Vehicle transfers through ICBC follow a similar $25,000 guideline. If the estate includes real property held in the deceased’s name alone, a grant is almost always required regardless of value, because the Land Title Office will not process a transfer without one.