All About Estates

Tag: Court of Appeal

Total 7 Posts

A Tale of Two Versions: The Court of Appeal Invalidates a Will

My colleague Joanna Lindenberg and I had previously blogged on the case of Bayford v. Boese (the decision and the costs decision, respectively) where the court upheld the validity of a challenged will (the second of two ‘versions’ of the same will). However, in Bayford v. Boese, 2021 ONCA 442…

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ETDL Appeal is to the Divisional Court – not the Court of Appeal

What appellate court is the proper forum for an appeal regarding the payment of an estate trustee during litigation’s fees (an “ETDL”)? In Gefen v. Gaertner, 2019 ONCA 233, the Court of Appeal held it was the Divisional Court and not the Court of Appeal. The Gefen Estate (the “Estate”)…

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You can’t gift what you don’t have

Kindly Arlindo Teixeira took care of his elderly neighbour Mary Markgraf. Mary died shortly after writing a large cheque to Arlindo which could not be cashed due to insufficient funds. In Teixeira v. Markgraf Estate, 2017 ONCA 819, the Court of Appeal upheld the application judge’s ruling that this gift…

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Court of Appeal Limits Dependant Support Claw Back

The family law bar must be breathing a sigh of relief after reading the Court of Appeal’s decision in Dagg v. Cameron Estate, 2017 ONCA 366. Both the application judge and the Divisional Court (discussed on this blog, respectively, here and here) held that a life insurance policy taken out…

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No Second Chance to Replace Estate Trustee

Has the Court of Appeal written the final chapter in the long-running dispute between Erna and Hilda (two sisters who have been in litigation against each other since 2003)? I previously blogged about the Divisional Court’s ruling on an appeal of a contested passing of accounts regarding Erna’s role as attorney and…

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Ontario Court of Appeal Considers When is a Gift Not a Gift

In McNamee v. McNamee, the Court of Appeal reviewed the essential ingredients of a legally valid gift. The issue on appeal was whether 500 common shares in the family business, which had been transferred to Mr. McNamee Jr. constituted a gift for the purposes of s. 4(2) of the Family Law Act.

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Court of Appeal delivers pyrrhic victory on costs to appellant in Smith Estate; otherwise dismisses appeal

Last week, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Smith v. Rotstein. The decision appealed from was a summary judgment under old Rule 20 dismissing Ms. Rotstein’s will challenge.

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