Kelowna lawyer found to have misappropriated $54K in estate funds
Published 12:54 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2026
A Kelowna-based lawyer will no longer practice law after misappropriating funds from an estate he represented.
Donald L. Wilkinson, a wills and estates lawyer, was found by the Law Society of British Columbia in a consent agreement to have misappropriated around $54,000 from a deceased client’s estate to himself and the deceased’s granddaughter in the form of legal fees.
The deceased had passed in April 2019, leaving behind an estate with around $1.2 million.
From Nov. 5, 2020, to Feb. 27, 2023, Wilkinson paid $25,392 to himself from the deceased’s estate in the form of executor and management fees. The law society said Wilkinson was “not entitled to some or all of those funds.”
Through the same time period, Wilkinson had “incorrectly advised” the deceased’s granddaughter – referred to in the consent agreement as BB – that she was entitled to fees for acting as the deceased’s attorney. She had been appointed as a co-executor of her will before later renouncing her appointment.
In 2019, Wilkinson had told BB she was entitled to fees worth two per cent of the deceased’s estate as well as compensation for expenses she incurred during this time.
On Nov. 5, 2020, BB was sent three cheques totalling $30,502 for her services.
The law society investigated Wilkinson’s work, finding that he miscalculated his own fees and improperly advised BB that they were entitled to their own fees after he was found “failing to review” the deceased’s last will, testament and enduring power of attorney (EPOA), nor did he review the provincial Trustee Act.
Wilkinson had calculated and billed his executor fees using percentages of the deceased’s estate, which was valued at around $1.2 million. In the deceased’s will, it stated that Wilkinson’s executor fees were to “be determined on an hourly basis”, not based on a percentage of the deceased’s will.
His management fees also “failed to review” a section of the provincial Trustee Act, which states that management fees cannot exceed “0.4 per cent of the average market value of the assets.”
Wilkinson had calculated his fee, taking 0.8 per cent of the gross value of the deceased estate. As a result, he took an additional $10,885, which he was not entitled to.”
Under the deceased’s EPOA, there was no clause stating the attorney should be compensated, meaning BB was not entitled to her compensation.
The consent agreement stated that because of the misappropriation of funds, the “residuary beneficiaries (of the estate) received a smaller bequest than they were entitled to.”
The law society stated that Wilkinson was cooperative with their investigation and admitted that his actions constituted misconduct, expressing remorse.
It was also stated that some of the misunderstandings may have derived from Wilkinson delegating the review of the deceased’s EPOA and will to his legal assistant, whom he did not “properly supervise.”
The consent agreement stated that Wilkinson has since stopped practicing law, resigning from the law society as a result.
Wilkinson is not expected to apply for reinstatement, being “past the usual age of retirement.”