A recent case confirmed that estate trustees representing an estate in litigation must have a lawyer unless the court dispenses with that requirement. In Scarangella v. Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Ms. Scarangella commenced a medical negligence action as a claimant under the Family Law Act and as the estate trustee…
Often when an estate is involved in litigation to address the conduct of an uncooperative beneficiary, the other beneficiaries expect that the estate trustee’s court costs will be paid from the share of the “problem” beneficiary. However, as lawyers like to say “it depends.” In a recent Ontario case, an…
Ontario’s Court of Appeal (“COA”) recently released a decision clarifying the legal requirements for finding a purchase money resulting trust. The COA upheld the trial judge’s decision and dismissed the appeal on several grounds. The Appellant sought to appeal the trial judge’s finding that his mother’s estate held a 26%…
In Mansour v. Girgis, the court was asked to interpret the Deceased’s will and if the will was found to be ambiguous, to rectify a drafting error. The Deceased died in 2012. He never married and never had children. At the time of his death, he was survived by two…
In Lynk v Bennett Estate, a common law spouse brought an unjust enrichment claim against her late partner’s estate The Deceased, Mr. Bennett, had separated from his wife, Mrs. Bennett in 2004 but never divorced. He entered into a common law relationship with Ms. Lynk. They resided together for 15…
In Estate of Sydney Monteith v. Monteith, the court declined to award a share of the Deceased’s estate to his foster sister. Sydney (the “Deceased”) died on March 16, 2022. He left no Will. He had no spouse or issue and was predeceased by both his adoptive parents. Pursuant to…
In a recent will challenge case, the court ruled that the estate trustees during litigation could not access estate funds to pay their legal fees. The testator (“Hans”) and his late wife (“Colleen”) married in 1987. Together, they had 7 children from their previous marriages. In 2005, Hans and Colleen…
In a recent decision, the court awarded punitive damages against a former estate trustee who had ignored a number of court orders requiring her to account. In 2002, the estate trustee (“Lorali”) was appointed a co-estate trustee of her late mother’s estate (the “Deceased“). Subsequently, her co-estate trustee died in 2013,…
In a recent British Columbia case, the court was asked to interpret the residue clause of a will. The testator’s wife held a life interest in the Estate’s property and was a beneficiary of an ongoing testamentary trust. However, both her stepchildren (and presumed receipients of the residue of the…
In Alger v. Crumb, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a general revocation clause in a will did not revoke the testator’s TFSA and RRIF beneficiary designations. The Court concluded that under s. 51 and s. 52 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”), the beneficiary designations have to be expressly…
