Case Law

30 March 2020 TAGS: Wills

Case Brief - The Rule Against Perpetuities

In Goss Estate (Re), 2020 ABQB 121, the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta considered whether provisions of a will violated the Rule Against Perpetuities.

25 February 2020 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief - Mental Health and Testamentary Capacity

In Leonard v. Zychowicz, 2020 ONSC 662, the Superior Court considered the case of a will challenged on the grounds that the testator's history of bipolar disorder meant she lacked testamentary capacity.

4 February 2020 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: Court Orders Are Not Suggestions

The New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench had strong words, in Jensen v. Jensen, 2020 NBQB 8, when it recently handed down a contempt order to an executor in an estate dispute.

16 January 2020 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: Disinheriting your only living heir

In Re Vaudrey, 2019 ONSC 7551, the Superior Court of Justice considered a case where a deceased individual's only living heir was expressly disinherited by the will.

3 December 2019 TAGS: Guest Post

Case Comment: Slover v Rellinger 2019 ONSC 6497 on Testamentary Capacity & Undue Influence

In this lengthy (82 page) decision, Justice Sanfilippo addresses an estate dispute involving tense family relationships, complex estate planning documents, questions concerning testamentary capacity, undue influence, and the admissibility of a retrospective capacity assessment.

21 November 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief - A disinherited granddaughter challenges two wills

In Balanko v. Logan De Chavez*, 2019 ABQB 860, the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta considered the case of a disinherited granddaughter who challenged two wills.

24 October 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: Holding up the administration of an estate

In Maloney v. Maloney, 2019 ONSC 5632, the Superior Court considered a motion related to an estate administration held up by a notice of objection.

20 September 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief - What happens when the co-owner of a house dies?

In Guz v Olszowka, 2019 ONSC 5308, Justice D.A. Broad considered motions related to a dispute over two properties inherited by two sisters.

15 August 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief - Testamentary Capacity and Second Languages

In Silano v Silano, the Superior Court considered a will challenge involving an Italian-speaking testator who made a substantial change to his will shortly before his death.

23 July 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief - Varying a Will

In Grewal v. Litt, the Supreme Court of British Columbia varied a will that divided a couple's estate unevenly between their sons and daughters.

24 June 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief - Testamentary Capacity and Early Stage Dementia

In Kay v Kay Sr, 2019 ONSC 3166, Maranger J considered a will challenge where the testator executed a will at age 89, while in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

11 April 2019 TAGS: Estates

Case Brief: Challenging a will because of a "material mistake of fact"

In Cavanagh et al. v. Sutherland et al., a mother had made a will disinheriting one of her six daughters. After the mother died, this daughter argued that the will was invalid because the mother's decision to disinherit her was "contingent on a material mistake of fact."

28 January 2019 TAGS: Estates

It's official: wills are not trusts

The Divisional Court has resolved the recent confusion caused by the conflicting Milne and Panda decisions about the validity of certain wills containing "basket clauses".

16 January 2019 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: Determining the purchase price of a business

In Muchmaker Estate (Re), 2019 ONSC 59, the court had to interpret a provision in the deceased's secondary will for determining the purchase price of his business, among other issues.

15 November 2018 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: What happens when burial arrangements are contested?

In Miller v Miller, 2018 ONSC 6625 the children of the deceased strongly disagreed over where their mother should be buried until an estate trustee could be appointed by the court.

13 September 2018 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: When is a will invalid?

In Milne Estate (Re), 2018 ONSC 4174, the Superior Court answers the question: Is a will that grants the executors the discretion to determine what property is subject to the will a valid will?

24 August 2018 TAGS: Case Law

What happens when a beneficiary can't be found?

If a beneficiary can't be found, when is it appropriate to assume they've died? The Superior Court of Justice considered this issue in Steele v. Smith, 2018 ONSC 4601 and granted a motion declaring that a missing beneficiary had died before the testator.

9 July 2018 TAGS: Case Law

Court Approval: One year later

Today marks exactly one year since the Superior Court confirmed in a written decision that publishing a notice to creditors on NoticeConnect satisfies the Trustee Act.

18 June 2018 TAGS: Case Law

How long do surviving spouses have to choose between the FLA and SLRA regimes?

In Aquilina v Aquilina (2018 ONSC 3607), S.F. Dunphy J. explains when it is appropriate to extend the statutory deadline by which a surviving spouse must elect between equalization under the Family Law Act vs the Succession Law Reform Act.

15 May 2018 TAGS: Case Law

Case Brief: Koster v. Koster, 2018 ONSC 2321

George Koster died in 2014 at the age of 94. George's nieces and nephews brought an application challenging the validity of George's will on the grounds that George's mistress-turned-wife, Elizabeth, had unduly influence George.

27 April 2018 TAGS: Estates

Estate law horror stories: the unruly trustee

Many testators provide clear direction on the administration of their assets and appoint trusted and responsible friends or family members as their estate trustees. But there are many instances where these individuals ignore their fiduciary duties to the testator’s estate, with disastrous results.

4 April 2018 TAGS: Estates

Case Brief: Fica v Dmytrshyn

Nadia Dmytryshyn had two sons, Taras and Bryan, and a brother Ned. Taras and Ned had power of attorney over Nadia's property in the six months before her death and were then her Estate Trustees.

7 July 2017 TAGS: Case Law

Court Confirms NoticeConnect Satisfies Trustee Act

This morning, Justice Conway of the Ontario Superior Court granted an order confirming that a notice to creditors published on NoticeConnect.com had satisfied the estate trustee’s duty to advertise for creditors