Schedule D · Defined terms
Defined terms
Every legal word we use, and what it means. If a word on this site is set in small caps with a fine underline, its meaning is here.
A
- Adjustment date
The day a home's running costs switch from the seller to the buyer: property taxes, utilities, strata fees.
Usually the same day as possession. The statement of adjustments works out the sums.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Affidavit
A written statement you swear or affirm is true, signed in front of a lawyer or notary.
It carries the same weight as saying it in court, so every word gets read back to you first.
B
- Beneficiary
Someone who receives something under a will or a trust.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
C
- Charge
Anything registered against a property's title that someone else has a claim through: a mortgage, a lien, a right of way.
A clear title has only the charges you expect. Reading them is most of a title review.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Completion date
The day a property sale closes: the money moves, the title transfers, and the documents are registered.
Possession, when you get the keys, is usually a day or so after.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Conflict check
The search a firm runs before taking you on, to make sure it has never acted for the person on the other side.
It is why we ask for names before we ask for your story: if we cannot act for you, we should not hear the details.
- Conveyance
The legal transfer of property from one owner to another. Conveyancing is all the work that makes it happen.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
D
- Default judgment
A court decision against someone who did not reply to a claim. The court hears only the side that filed it.
It is why the reply deadline on court papers matters more than any other date in a dispute.
Where this comes up: Civil Disputes
- Disbursements
Out-of-pocket costs a lawyer pays on your behalf and passes on at cost: registry fees, searches, courier.
They are not the lawyer's fee. We list them before you sign anything and show each one on the bill.
- Discovery
In limitation law, the day you knew, or reasonably should have known, that you had a claim. Most clocks start there.
It can fall well after the event itself, which is why the start date is often the first thing a lawyer checks.
Where this comes up: Civil Disputes
E
- Easement
A right someone else holds over your land, or you over theirs, like a shared driveway or a water line.
It stays with the land when it sells, so you inherit every easement on title.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Estate
Everything a person owns and owes when they die, which the executor gathers, settles and hands on.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
- Executor
The person named in a will to settle the estate: collect what is owned, pay what is owed, and distribute the rest.
BC law calls this role the personal representative. It is a real job, and it can be declined.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
F
- Family property
What spouses acquired during the relationship, which BC law generally splits equally when they separate.
Some things are excluded, like an inheritance or what someone owned before, but the growth in value may not be.
Where this comes up: Family Law
G
- Grant of probate
The court document confirming a will is valid and the executor has authority to deal with the estate.
Banks and the Land Title Office usually need it before they will release or transfer anything.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
- Guardianship
Who holds parental responsibilities for a child. In BC, a parent who has regularly cared for the child is usually a guardian.
Where this comes up: Family Law
I
- Incorporation
Creating a company as its own legal person, separate from the people who own it.
The company signs contracts, owes its own debts, and files its own taxes.
Where this comes up: Small Business
- Intestate
Dying without a valid will. BC law then decides who inherits, in a fixed order.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
J
- Just cause
Serious misconduct that lets an employer fire someone without notice or severance. It is rarer than employers think.
Where this comes up: Employment
L
- Limitation period
The time limit for starting a legal claim. After it passes, the claim is usually gone for good.
Most BC claims have two years from discovery. Our page on the clocks lists the common ones.
M
- Mediation
A meeting where a neutral person helps both sides reach their own agreement. The mediator decides nothing.
Where this comes up: Family Law
- Minute book
The official record of a company: its articles, share register, directors, and every formal decision.
Keeping it current is a legal requirement, and the first thing a buyer or bank asks to see.
Where this comes up: Small Business
P
- Parenting arrangements
Who makes decisions for a child after separation, and how the child's time is shared.
The only test the court applies is the child's best interests.
Where this comes up: Family Law
- Power of attorney
A document naming someone to manage your money and property if you cannot. The enduring kind keeps working if you lose capacity.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
- Probate fees
The provincial charge on an estate that goes through probate: nothing on the first $25,000, then set per $1,000.
They are paid to the government through the lawyer, not to the lawyer.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
- Property transfer tax
The provincial tax on buying property in BC, paid when the transfer registers.
First-time buyers can be exempt on the first $500,000 when the price is $835,000 or less.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
R
- Reasonable notice
The warning, or pay instead of warning, an employee is owed when let go without cause. Often far more than the legal minimum.
It depends on age, length of service, the job, and how hard similar work is to find.
Where this comes up: Employment
- Release
A document where you give up the right to sue, usually signed in exchange for money.
Once signed, it is very hard to undo. Read every release with a lawyer first.
Where this comes up: Employment
- Representation agreement
A BC document naming someone to make health and personal care decisions for you if you cannot.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
- Rescission period
The three business days a BC home buyer has after acceptance to back out, for a fee of 0.25% of the price.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Retainer
Money you pay a lawyer in advance, held in trust and drawn against itemized bills. Anything unused comes back.
It is still your money until a bill is issued against it.
S
- Service
Formally delivering court documents to someone. Many deadlines start the day you are served.
Keep the envelope and write down the date. It matters more than anything inside.
Where this comes up: Civil Disputes
- Statement of adjustments
The page of sums on a property deal: price, deposit, taxes and fees, split to the day between buyer and seller.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Strata
BC's form of shared ownership: you own your unit, and share the building and land with the other owners.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
T
- Title
The official record of who owns a property and what is registered against it, kept by the Land Title Office.
Where this comes up: Real Estate & Conveyancing
- Trust account
A separate bank account where a lawyer holds clients' money. It is not the firm's money, and the rules for it are strict.
Every dollar in and out is recorded against your file, and you can ask to see the ledger at any time.
W
- Wills variation
A claim by a spouse or child that a will failed to provide for them fairly, which the court can rewrite.
It must be started within 180 days of the grant of probate.
Where this comes up: Wills & Estates
These definitions are general information about what the words mean, not advice about your situation. For that, talk to one of us.
Begin with a conversation
Fifteen minutes on the phone, no charge, and an honest answer about whether you need a lawyer at all.