Today’s blog was written by Christopher Cook, Student-At-Law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP In some common law jurisdictions, there exists a fascinating (but rarely applied) legal doctrine called “patent mistake.” This doctrine applies in the context of applications for probate. When asked to probate a will, the court’s task is…
The Ontario Court of Appeal (“ONCA”) decision in Gefen Estate v. Gefen is an interesting read which provides insight into a variety of topics including mutual wills and mutual will agreements, secret trusts, the doctrine of unconscionable procurement, and more! By way of background, Elias and Henia Gefen were married…
Current approaches that define capacity in cognitive terms disregard concerns that emotional instability may disrupt capacity or that a person may be cognitively intact yet lack the capacity to give a valid consent. An alternative evaluative approach would be to view capacity holistically, as a combination of biological, psychological, and social (biopsychosocial) factors.
This blog has been written by Sandra Arsenault, Law Clerk at Fasken LLP Welcome back! This is Part 2 of a two-part series on unusual assets and estate administration. For part one, please see my blog post here. Typical assets in an estate consist of real property, automobiles, corporations, investments,…
This Blog was written by: Alicia Mossington (Godin), Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotia Wealth Management An estate trustee, also known as an executor, is responsible for administering the estate of the deceased and carrying out the terms of the Will (or other testamentary documentation). The recent article by Rebecca Studin titled…
In a recent British Columbia case, the court was asked to interpret the residue clause of a will. The testator’s wife held a life interest in the Estate’s property and was a beneficiary of an ongoing testamentary trust. However, both her stepchildren (and presumed receipients of the residue of the…
A testator must have knowledge and approved of the contents of her will. This is one of the requisite elements for proving a will in a solemn form. Knowledge and approval, and its closely related cousin of due execution, is generally viewed as an easier test to meet compared with…
In Alger v. Crumb, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a general revocation clause in a will did not revoke the testator’s TFSA and RRIF beneficiary designations. The Court concluded that under s. 51 and s. 52 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”), the beneficiary designations have to be expressly…
Security for costs is designed to ensure that a defendant to an action or a respondent to an application does not have to incur the expense of a fulsome defence without the possibility of recovering a portion of her costs against the plaintiff/applicant.
Joinder In the world of estate law, litigation is often unavoidable. Sometimes, facts and players will emerge after the initial pleadings stage, i.e., after litigation has already begun. In that case, a notice of application or statement of claim must be amended to add further respondents who are not already…
