A recent decision by the British Columbia Court of Appeal has transformed the approach for commencing a proceeding on behalf of the estate of a deceased person in British Columbia. Hoggan v. Silvey<\/em>, 2022 BCCA 176, began with a dispute among siblings. When Marjory Hoggan (\u201cMarjory<\/strong>\u201d) passed away in 2018, she left behind an estate valued at approximately $367,000 to be distributed equally among her three daughters: Lorna, Louise, and Linda. Lorna\u2019s husband Ray was appointed as executor of Marjory\u2019s estate. This may seem like straightforward testamentary instruction \u2013 and it was. However, the dispute did not arise from the funds contained in the estate; it arose from the funds that weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Marjory\u2019s death, she had a close relationship with her daughter Lorna and Lorna\u2019s husband Ray (together, the \u201cSilveys<\/strong>\u201d). They saw each other five to six times per week, and the Silveys often assisted Marjory with errands and household tasks. As Marjory\u2019s health began to deteriorate in the early 2000s, she granted Lorna power of attorney and added Lorna as a joint account holder on her bank account. Over the next several years, and before Marjory\u2019s death, Lorna made out various cheques to herself from the joint account she held with Marjory. In total, at least $153,000.00 was transferred from the joint account to the Silveys before Marjory\u2019s final estate was accounted for. These missing funds became the source of the dispute between Louise, Lynda, and the Silveys. Louise and Lynda attempted to rely upon section 151 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, S.B.C. 2009, c. 13<\/em> (\u201cWESA<\/em><\/strong>\u201d) to bring forth an action against the Silveys on behalf of Marjory\u2019s estate. Section 151 of the WESA<\/em> outlines the requirements for commencing proceedings on behalf of the estate of a deceased person, and reads (in part):<\/p>\n\n\n\n (3) The court may grant leave under this section if Previous case law interpreted section 151 to contain three separate requirements that all need to be satisfied in order for the court to grant leave to commence an action on behalf of a deceased person\u2019s estate. These requirements were <\/em>that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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(b) it appears to the court that it is necessary or expedient for the protection of the estate or the interests of a specified person for the proceeding to be brought or defended.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n