Karen Watters

The Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure may be dramatically changed. In January 2024, the Civil Rules Review (the “CRR”) was launched. The mandate of the CRR is extensive: to “conduct a comprehensive and complete review of the Rules and identify, through consultation, areas where targeted changes to the Rules would increase efficiency and access to justice for Ontarians, reduce complexity and costs, maximize the effective use of court resources, reduce….

In the recent Ontario Court of Appeal case of Leith v. Leith Estate, 2024 ONCA 863 (CanLII), the Court heard two motions before it.  The appellant is the spouse of the deceased.  In the lower court the spouse argued that she was entitled to an equalization payment as the deceased did not adequately provide for her in his will.  The spouse’s right to an equalization payment was not disputed.  For….

The court has an inherent jurisdiction to refuse an appointment of an estate trustee even where the application is unopposed.  This inherent jurisdiction was affirmed by the Ontario Court of Appeal in James Estate (Re), 2024 ONCA 623, when it upheld the lower court’s decision to refuse an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee (“CAET”).  In James Estate, the appellant brought his application for a CAET with….

Litigation is not cheap.  Some litigants have little choice but to fund the litigation through loans provided by litigation lending companies.  While litigation loans may be more common in certain practice areas, such as personal injury, it is possible to obtain this type of loan for estate litigation. This is precisely what the applicant did in Drennan v Drennan, 2024 ONSC 3905 (CanLII) (“Drennan”), a recently reported decision of Justice….

A party needs leave to appeal when it is appealing only a costs decision. Leave was granted in the case of Pletch v. Pletch Estate, 2024 ONSC 1411 (CanLII) (Ont. Div. Crt) (“Pletch Estate”), where an estate trustee was not awarded any costs of the application.  In Pletch Estate the deceased died without a will. He had three children from his first marriage, two of whom were minors, and another….