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…
Estate Trustees During Litigation are appointed in a wide variety of situations where a neutral party is needed to administer and preserve the estate assets. The bar for their appointment is lower than to remove an estate trustee.
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”)…
The reality is, with the impending transfer of one of the largest amounts of wealth in our history from one generation to the next, we are likely to see a continued up-tick in estate litigation. Along with that there will be the increased need for a neutral party to preserve the assets of the estate during the course of such litigation.