On June 29, 2019, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “HRTO”) released an interim decision which impacts upon estate trustees and which calls for some friendly scrutiny from estate solicitors and litigators. My colleague, Jacob Kaufman, blogged about a previous and related HRTO 2017 case which required that a certificate of…
On June 18, 2018, Justice Dunphy made ex parte orders sealing the court files relating to the Sherman Estates. On catching wind of the sealing orders, the Toronto Star, and one of its reporters, Kevin Donovan, brought a motion to terminate the sealing orders. They succeeded on appeal.
Co-written by Jennifer Campbell, estate clerk at Fasken Recently, we have dealt with a number of “international” estates, where (i) probate has been issued in a foreign jurisdiction, (ii) an executor is resident of another country, or (iii) a Canadian deceased held property outside of Canada. These matters have caused…
Today’s blog was co-authored by Joanna Lindenberg and Ronald Neal The decision of Milne Estate (Re) (“Milne”) caused a stir among the members of the estates bar and solicitors who draft wills, going so far as to illicit an alert from LawPRO. While the Milne decision (which is under appeal)…
Estate litigators are very familiar with unique and interesting fact patterns and it is helpful to be reminded that unusual circumstances may warrant the use of somewhat uncommon remedies. Rule 45 of the Rules of Civil Procedure is one such remedy, which provides for the interim preservation of property and…
This Blog was written by: Emily Racine As we know, the statistics are less than ideal for the number of Canadians who have a will let alone a recently updated one. That being said, having a will is not enough – it is important to have the original will….
Today’s blog was written by Justin W. de Vries and Jacob Kaufman A will need not be probated. The power of an estate trustee derives from the will itself. However, in certain cases, a grant of probate (now awkwardly called a certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will)…
In Campbell v Evert 2018 ONSC 593, the deceased had, in the decade prior to her passing, transferred to Mr. Evert (one of the “kids”) the family cottage valued at $145,000. In her will later that year, she made a specific bequest of $145,000 to Ms. Campbell, the other “kid’,…
This Bog was written by; Sally Lee Is Priority Given to a Spouse/Common Law Partner to be an Executor in an Intestacy? No, but I can understand why this misconception exists. Subsection 29(1) of the Estates Act creates the confusion by naming the surviving spouse/common law partner before the next…
Occasionally, I (like many of fellow bloggers for sure) get asked – what is appropriate remuneration for an executor or executrix to administer an estate – often in circumstances where remuneration is not specified or even referred in the deceased’s will or otherwise. Bottom line, what are the guidelines and…
