This blog has been written by JOSEPH STONEHOUSE, litigation associate at Fasken LLP (Toronto) In a recent decision, Justice Myers of the Superior Court of Justice dismissed claims by beneficiaries under a will against the drafter because those claims were brought more than 15 years after the defendant drafted the will….
Category: Contested wills
Total 113 Posts
The recent decision in Bayliss v. Burnham, 2025 ONSC 5376 provides insight into how estate issues involving the Indian Act (the “Act”) are resolved. Kenneth Ryan Hill (“Kenneth” or the “Estate”) passed away from natural causes on January 18, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Kenneth was a status Indian registered under…
This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust Recent decisions from the British Columbia Court of Appeal have underscored how fragile an estate plan can become when a Will is ambiguous, or when life insurance and beneficiary designations conflict with the testator’s broader intentions. These cases remind…
This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust AI has started writing Wills. That might sound futuristic, but it’s already happening. Generative tools can churn out documents that look polished, formatted, and ready to sign. But what happens when those words don’t match what the person…
This blog post was written by: Dave Madan, Senior Manager, Scotiatrust This summer, the Montana Supreme Court had to weigh in on a modern question: can a selfie video serve as a person’s last Will? The short answer was no. In a case that made headlines, the court rejected a…
Generally, the validity of a last will and testament can be challenged on the basis of: (i) lack of testamentary capacity; (ii) undue influence; (iii) lack of knowledge and approval of the will; and/or (iv) fraud. While allegations relating to undue influence often go hand-in-hand with claims relating to lack…
This blog post was written by: Alicia Mossington, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust London Historically in Ontario, a Last Will and Testament was required to meet strict formal validity requirements to be considered valid. The requirements set out in the Succession Law Reform Act required a Will to be in…
Today’s blog post was written by Latoya Brown, an Associate at Fasken LLP. The discussion of discriminatory wills continues with a new case out of the British Columbia Supreme Court. In Lam v Law Estate, 2024 BCSC 156, the court varied a testatrix’s will on the reasoning that the testatrix’s…
Irina Samborski, associate and Caroline Mercer, articling student, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP When an estate is litigated, a deceased person’s decision-making is forced into the public record. Sometimes, the court is asked to pass judgement and correct decisions that may seem unreasonable or unfair. However, some courts prefer to uphold…
Undue influence, a common claim to be heard in the context of will challenges, occurs when a testator is forced or coerced into changing his or her will or creating a new one in favour of the coercing party. A closely related concept is testamentary fraud. Although testamentary fraud does…