Effective September 30, 2026

Legal notice

ProbateBuddy fills in the British Columbia Supreme Court forms for an application for a grant of probate, using the answers you give in its questionnaire. That is all it does.

A document preparation tool, not a law firm

ProbateBuddy is operated by Erik Mitbrodt, a lawyer in British Columbia, operating as ProbateBuddy. ProbateBuddy is not his law practice, and his law practice is not involved in this service. Erik Mitbrodt does not review your estate, your will or your answers, and he is not your lawyer.

No legal advice, no solicitor-client relationship

Nothing on this website, in the questionnaire, or in the documents ProbateBuddy produces is legal advice. ProbateBuddy does not tell you whether you need probate, whether the will is valid, who is entitled to what, how to deal with a claim against the estate, or how to handle any particular problem.

Using ProbateBuddy does not create a solicitor-client relationship with Erik Mitbrodt or with anyone else. You are a self-represented applicant. If you want legal advice, retain a lawyer in British Columbia.

The forms are yours

The documents ProbateBuddy prepares are your own application. You sign them. Several are affidavits that you will swear or affirm to be true. Before you sign anything:

• read every page;
• check every name, date, address, account and amount against your records;
• correct anything that is wrong (ProbateBuddy will regenerate the package from corrected answers); and
• do not sign a form you do not understand.

Swearing to something that is not true can be a criminal offence and can cost the estate the grant.

What ProbateBuddy does not do

• It does not check that your answers are accurate or complete.
• It does not read the will or decide whether the estate qualifies.
• It does not file anything, deliver the notices, obtain the wills search certificate, or pay court fees.
• It does not guarantee that a registry will accept the application or that a grant will issue. Registry practice varies, and the registry, not ProbateBuddy, decides.
• It does not add anything to the forms that you did not provide, and it uses no artificial intelligence to write any part of them.

Who it is for, and who should see a lawyer

ProbateBuddy is built for straightforward estates: the person who died left a will; the original signed will can be filed; the estate's assets are in British Columbia; the Public Guardian and Trustee is not involved; and nobody is disputing anything.

Consult a lawyer before using ProbateBuddy, or instead of it, if any of these apply:

• there is no will, or the original cannot be found, or the will is damaged or was not signed and witnessed in the usual way;
• assets are held outside British Columbia, or there is a business, a trust, or a claim against the estate;
• a beneficiary is a minor or is not capable of managing their affairs, or a beneficiary or intestate heir cannot be found;
• a spouse, child or anyone else may challenge the will or claim against the estate under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act;
• you are not sure that you are entitled to apply, or another executor will not cooperate;
• the registry questions or rejects any part of the application; or
• you are unsure about anything at all.

If you do not have a lawyer, the Legal Referral Service run by Access Pro Bono British Columbia offers a free first consultation of 15 to 30 minutes with a lawyer; a small booking fee may apply.

The forms themselves

The forms are the ones prescribed under Part 25 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules. ProbateBuddy fills them in; it does not change their prescribed wording. No court, registry, government body or the Law Society of British Columbia approves ProbateBuddy's templates or endorses ProbateBuddy.

Fees you will pay to others

Court fees (the filing fee and probate fees under the Probate Fee Act), certified copy fees, the Vital Statistics wills search fee and commissioning fees are paid by you to those bodies and are not part of ProbateBuddy's fee. The fee calculator shows how the probate fee is worked out.

Liability

ProbateBuddy's responsibility to you is set out in the Terms of Use. To the extent the law allows, it is limited to the fee you paid, and ProbateBuddy is not responsible for the consequences of inaccurate answers, of filing without reviewing the forms, or of using the service for an estate outside its scope.

Confidential information

Do not send confidential information about an estate by email or through the website's contact address. The questionnaire is the only channel designed for it; the Privacy Policy explains how it is protected.

Contact

ProbateBuddy, Erik Mitbrodt
Email: info@probatebuddy.ca