{"id":44334,"date":"2026-01-21T16:36:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/?p=44334"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:36:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:36:38","slug":"what-is-required-to-express-a-fixed-and-final-testamentary-intention-lessons-from-paige-v-noel-2025-bcca-358","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/en\/insights\/estate-litigation\/what-is-required-to-express-a-fixed-and-final-testamentary-intention-lessons-from-paige-v-noel-2025-bcca-358\/","title":{"rendered":"What is required to express a fixed and final testamentary intention? Lessons from <i>Paige v Noel, 2025 BCCA\u00a0358<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Can a text message sent by a will-maker alter a will? In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/bc\/bcca\/doc\/2025\/2025bcca358\/2025bcca358.html?resultId=c0add728e3564ed09af55f3220e64655&amp;searchId=2026-01-12T09:22:18:600\/12b191949150473290671321d2bdfed3&amp;searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAcUGFpZ2UgdiBOb2VsLCAyMDI1IEJDQ0EgMzU4IAAAAAAB\"><em>Paige v Noel, <\/em>2025 BCCA&nbsp;358<\/a> (\u201c<strong><em>Paige<\/em><\/strong>\u201d), the British Columbia Court of Appeal considered whether text messages and emails (the \u201c<strong>Messages<\/strong>\u201d) expressing an intent to disinherit a beneficiary were sufficient to alter a will under s. 58 of British Columbia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/bc\/laws\/astat\/sbc-2009-c-13\/latest\/sbc-2009-c-13.html\"><em>Wills, Estates and Succession Act<\/em><\/a>, SBC&nbsp;200, c&nbsp;13 (\u201c<strong><em>WESA<\/em><\/strong>\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pursuant to s. 58 of <em>WESA<\/em>, a court can declare a record or document to be fully effective as a will or an alteration or revocation of a will, even if that record or document does not meet the formal requirements under the statute. To exercise this curative power, the court must be satisfied that a record or document:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>is authentic; and<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>represents the deceased\u2019s fixed and final <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/bc\/bcsc\/doc\/2015\/2015bcsc182\/2015bcsc182.html?resultId=ce67204e5450422ead939cf013c1e556&amp;searchId=2025-12-30T16:23:15:108\/d340653e1947411f9d6e4e6c8e8c131c&amp;searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAeRXN0YXRlIG9mIFlvdW5nLCAyMDE1IEJDU0MgMTgyAAAAAAE\">testamentary intention<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Courts may consider extrinsic evidence of the deceased\u2019s intent, including events before or after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/bc\/bcca\/doc\/2017\/2017bcca311\/2017bcca311.html?resultId=960cf94bc20344ac94668a076e824797&amp;searchId=2025-12-30T16:24:58:032\/1148c22a313746f4babb02ecf15bbee4&amp;searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAfUmUgSGFkbGV5IEVzdGF0ZSwgMjAxNyBCQ0NBIDMxMQAAAAAB\">the document<\/a> was made. Exercising s. 58\u2019s curative power primarily involves an analysis of whether a document represents the deceased\u2019s testamentary intent, at the time the document was created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Paige<\/em> offers important guidance regarding the scope of s. 58\u2019s curative power and clarifies what types of documents can reflect a deceased\u2019s \u201cfixed and final intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What were the key facts in <em>Paige<\/em>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The deceased\u2019s will named her goddaughter (the appellant) as a residual beneficiary. However, the deceased later expressed a desire to disinherit the appellant, and sent text messages to the executor named in her will stating her intention to prepare a new will and remove the appellant as a beneficiary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly thereafter, the deceased sent an email to her executor, explaining that she had met with a notary and decided not to destroy her current will immediately, to avoid dying intestate. Instead, she chose to keep her existing will until it could be revoked by a new, formally drafted will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deceased scheduled another appointment with a notary, which was later cancelled for health reasons. Two months after that cancellation, the deceased contacted her neighbour, a lawyer, to make what she described as a \u201cvery minor change\u201d to her will. Unfortunately, the deceased passed away before the amendments were made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why did the chambers judge consider the messages as a \u201cfixed and final intent\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The chambers judge concluded that the Messages reflected the deceased\u2019s \u201cfixed and final intention\u201d and could therefore operate to alter her will under s. 58 of <em>WESA<\/em>. This finding was supported by the steps taken by the deceased to formalize her intent before death. The judge reasoned that the deceased\u2019s statement that the current will would stand was merely an effort to prevent the deceased\u2019s estate from being distributed under intestacy laws, should she die before completing a new will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In making this decision, the chambers judge found that the Messages were sufficient to express testamentary intent. The chambers judge found that the deceased consistently stated her intent to disinherit the appellant, actively pursued steps to effect that change, and was prevented from completing a new will by circumstances beyond her control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why did the Court of Appeal reject the messages?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The chambers decision was overturned on appeal. The Court of Appeal held that the deceased did not intend the Messages to operate as a will or any other legally effective testamentary disposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This ruling significantly narrows the circumstances in which a document may be considered a deceased\u2019s fixed and final intent. The Court of Appeal emphasized that the informal nature of digital communications, such as text messages and emails, does not, on its own, demonstrate an intention for those documents to have a binding legal effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court of Appeal also considered extrinsic evidence to assess the deceased\u2019s state of mind when sending the Messages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Court of Appeal further emphasized the deceased\u2019s statement that her existing will would remain in effect until formally replaced. The Messages, which referenced creating a new formal will, indicated that they were not intended to serve as testamentary dispositions themselves. The deceased understood the formal process required to execute a new will, and the Messages did not meet the threshold required to constitute testamentary intent in these circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a document to qualify under s. 58, the deceased must intend for the communications themselves to have testamentary intent. The informality of electronic communication, akin to notes written on scrap paper, suggest impermanence rather than a \u201cfixed and final intention.\u201d The Court of Appeal reasoned that \u201cthe fact that these communications were recorded in an electronic record does not transform a casual conversation into a legally operative testamentary record unless the content of that conversation demonstrates a fixed and final intention to effect a testamentary disposition.\u201d<a id=\"_ftnref1\" href=\"#_ftn1\">[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the key takeaway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is not enough that a deceased expressed, in texts or emails, an intention to change their will. Those messages themselves must be intended to change a will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A fixed and final intent means \u201can intention that the document represents the testamentary intention of the deceased at the material time,\u201d not \u201can unwavering stated intention\u201d as interpreted by the chambers judge.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" id=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a> An intention that a document represents testamentary intent means \u201cthat the deceased must have intended the Messages to effect her intention to remove the appellant as a beneficiary.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn3\" id=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To invoke s. 58\u2019s curative power, a document must be intended to operate as a will or to alter or revoke an existing will. A mere written statement of intent, as the Court of Appeal characterized the Messages, does not meet this standard. Expressing an intention to disinherit the appellant is fundamentally different from creating a document intended to effect that change. The Messages only informally conveyed a desire to act; they were not sufficient indicators of \u201cfixed and final intent\u201d. As noted by the Court of Appeal, \u201cthe deceased intended to effect that alteration by making a new will.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn4\" id=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Paige <\/em>marks an important clarification in the limits of s. 58 of <em>WESA<\/em>. While the provision grants courts a broad curative power to give effect to a deceased\u2019s testamentary intentions, this decision emphasizes that not every expression of intent will suffice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a document to alter a will, the deceased must intend the document itself to operate as a testamentary disposition with legal effect, not merely as a record of future plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about how courts approach informal records under s. 58 of <em>WESA<\/em>, or to review your estate plan, contact a member of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/en\/expertise\/tax\/private-client-services\/\">Private Client Services<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/en\/expertise\/estates-trusts-litigation\/\">Estates and Trusts Litigation<\/a> team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" id=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> <em>Paige<\/em> at para&nbsp;43.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" id=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> <em>Ibid<\/em>. at para&nbsp;45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" id=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> <em>Ibid<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" id=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> <em>Ibid<\/em>. at para&nbsp;52.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction Can a text message sent by a will-maker alter a will? In Paige v Noel, 2025 BCCA&nbsp;358 (\u201cPaige\u201d), the British Columbia Court of Appeal considered whether text messages and emails (the \u201cMessages\u201d) expressing an intent to disinherit a beneficiary were sufficient to alter a will under s. 58 of British Columbia\u2019s Wills, Estates and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":31036,"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[530],"insight-format":[416],"class_list":["post-44334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estate-litigation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is required to express a fixed and final testamentary intention? 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