All About Estates

Tag: de VRIES LITIGATION

Total 44 Posts

Passing of Accounts when the Grantor is Presumed Capable

In Winkler v. Thompson, the court considered whether a niece who held a power of attorney for property for her uncle (the “Deceased”) but insisted that she never acted in a fiduciary capacity for the Deceased should have to pass her accounts. The Deceased was survived by his estranged spouse…

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Legislative Amendments Proposed in Light of Calmusky

On March 16, 2020, the Superior Court of Ontario released its decision in Calmusky v Calmusky. In Calmusky, the Court applied the presumption of resulting trust to a RIF that was designated to a particular beneficiary. The beneficiary was unable to rebut the presumption, and the Court ordered that funds…

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Removing an Estate Trustee: More Than a Feeling

In Viertelhausen v Viertelhausen, the court dismissed an application to remove the estate trustee due to lack of evidence of a true conflict of interest. The deceased, Bote, died without a will. His brother, Bill, obtained a certificate of appointment of estate trustee without a will. The applicant, Teresa (a…

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Who Can Be a Litigation Guardian?

A recent decision by Master Kaufman examines whether a person with a personal interest in the legal proceedings can act as a litigation guardian for a party under a disability. In Shady Saleh v. Mohammed Salehe, the plaintiff, Shady, was his mother’s power of attorney for property. He sought to…

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You Can’t Always Get What You Want, But … You Get What You Need

In Poitras v. Canadian Cancer Society et. al., 2020 ONSC 4935 (CanLII), a  decision on a motion, the Estate Trustee/moving party sought an order setting the terms of a release so an interim distribution could be made. The responding party argued that an interim distribution could not be made until…

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More than a Suspicion: The Minimal Evidentiary Threshold

A recent Ontario decision, Martin v. Martin [1], considered the minimal evidentiary threshold required to obtain documentary discovery in a will challenge as set out in Seepa v. Seepa.  For further background on Seepa, read Rebecca Studin’s previous blog post on that decision. In Martin, the Applicant (the named Estate…

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Court Set Asides a Release and Orders a Passing of Accounts

An estate trustee may decide to forego passing their accounts because of the associated costs and seek a release from the estate’s beneficiaries instead. However, when the capacity of a beneficiary is in question, a  release may be set aside. In Foisey v. Green, the Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”)…

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Who is Your Substitute Decision-Maker?

Under the Heath Care and Consent Act  (“HCCA”), every person in Ontario has an automatic Substitute Decision-Maker (“SDM”) who can provide or refuse consent to medical treatment if the person becomes incapable of providing consent. However, there is still a great amount of confusion about SDMs and who they are,…

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The Law Commission of Ontario Seeks Public Consultation

The Law Commission of Ontario’s (LCO) Improving the Last Stages of Life project released two final research papers ahead of publishing its consultation paper. The LCO’s project examines how Ontario laws are shaping the quality of life of dying people and how end of life care can be improved in…

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Estate Trustee Awarded Costs for Unnecessary Passing of Accounts

In a recent court decision, Pochopsky Estate, the court found the Deceased’s four children (the “Beneficiaries”) jointly and severally liable for the estate trustee’s costs related to an application compelling him to pass his accounts.  The Beneficiaries had obtained an order compelling the estate trustee to account. The court ultimately…

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