Who Can Challenge a Will for Lack of Capacity or Undue Influence in British Columbia?

This answer covers the law of British Columbia.

There is no single list, but generally you need a real interest in the estate. That usually means a beneficiary, someone who would inherit if the will failed, a person named in an earlier will, or a spouse or child. WESA uses the term specified person for a beneficiary, an intestate successor, or a person who may start a wills variation claim.

Earlier-will beneficiaries matter because, if a later will is set aside for incapacity or undue influence, whether the earlier will survives depends on the court's findings. Spouse status affects standing on an intestacy and in a wills variation claim, and spouses are people who were married or lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years. A gift to a former spouse is revoked if the couple ceased to be spouses after the will was made, unless the will says otherwise.

If you cannot prove incapacity or undue influence, a spouse or child may instead ask the court for adequate maintenance and support. Whether you have standing depends on your relationship to the person who died and on the earlier documents, so a lawyer can confirm your position.