B.C. Court Upholds Contract Requiring One Party to Leave Estate to Other Parties

What if you enter into an agreement with someone, for example to provide them with services, based on a promise from that person that they will leave something to you in their will, but then you find out that the person has made a new will which makes no provision for you?  Is the agreement enforceable, and do you have to wait until after the person’s death to take steps to enforce your rights?

This issue arose in the recent case of  Munro v. James 2020 BCSC 1348. In Munro, the parties were acquaintances in the equestrian community. Ms. James (one of the defendants) owned a large farm property which included ponies. In 2007, the parties entered into an agreement whereby the plaintiffs would move onto Ms. James’ farm, build a home there, and look after Ms. James’ ponies for the remainder of her life.  In exchange, the plaintiffs were to inherit Ms. James’ estate when she died.  The agreement was put in writing.

In 2017, Ms. James made a new will that left her entire estate to another acquaintance, instead of the plaintiffs.  In 2018, Ms. James sought to terminate the agreement on the bases that the plaintiffs breached their obligations.  The plaintiffs sued.

The judge did not accept that the plaintiffs had breached the agreement in any of the numerous ways alleged by Ms. James.   The agreement remained in force and Ms. James was not entitled to terminate it. The plaintiffs were able to sue for “anticipatory breach”, where a party repudiates their contractual obligation before it falls due.  In other words, the plaintiffs did not have to wait until Ms. James’ death before they brought an action.  By changing her will to exclude the plaintiffs, she rejected the obligations of the contract and the plaintiffs were entitled to sue immediately.

The next issue was the remedy. The plaintiffs (as the non-defaulting party) had the right to elect as to whether to treat the contract as continuing (and they may seek specific performance – requiring Ms. James to fulfill her obligations under the agreement) or as ended (and sue for damages).

In this case, the plaintiffs did not accept the repudiation and wanted the contract to continue.  The Court had to figure out the appropriate remedy for the unusual circumstance where Ms. James failed to fulfill a term that upon her death, the plaintiffs would inherit her estate but Ms. James was still alive.

The Court ordered that the entire residue of Ms. James’ estate on her death, after payment of taxes and reasonable funeral and testamentary expenses, is payable to the plaintiffs. Further, Ms. James was not to dispose of or encumber the farm property without the consent of the plaintiffs or a court order. The plaintiffs were no longer obligated to perform services on the farm property pursuant to the agreement.

The Munro case is a good reminder that you should think carefully before entering into an agreement with a term requiring you to make a will to benefit another person.  As long as the other elements of a contract are present (i.e. offer, acceptance, consideration, etc…), this type of agreement is enforceable in B.C., and you may be put in the unpleasant situation of losing any testamentary autonomy to decide what will happen to your estate.  Further, the party expecting to benefit from such an agreement does not have to wait until your death before commencing an action, if the beneficiary becomes aware that you no longer intend to abide by the terms of the agreement.

Separation revokes a testamentary gift to a spouse, unless there is good evidence of a contrary intention

Subject to a contrary intention appearing in your will, a gift to your spouse made in your will is automatically revoked upon a separation (Section 56(2) of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act S.B.C. 2009, c. 13 (“WESA“)).

If you still wish to benefit your ex-spouse in your will (it does happen!), then you should update your will post-separation to make clear that you intend to make a gift to them despite the separation.

But what if you are named as a beneficiary in your ex-spouse’s will that was made prior to your separation? What if your ex-spouse wasn’t aware that a separation revokes a gift to a spouse, your spouse mistakenly believed that the gift to you in their will was still valid, and you have evidence that your spouse wanted to continue to benefit you upon their death despite your separation?

A will, or a part of a will can be revived under s. 57 of WESA. This may be done by an order under s. 58 of WESA, which allows the court to order that a record or document be fully effective as though it had made as the will or part of the will of a deceased person or order the revival of a will of the deceased person. I have previously written about s. 58 here. In effect, this section allows a document that does not meet the technical requirements of a will to be fully effective as if it was the deceased’s will. It also may allow a part of a will that has been revoked to be revived and be included as part of the will.

This is what happened in the recent case of Jacobson Estate (Re) 2020 BCSC 1280. The deceased made a will in 2014 which provided that her common law spouse was to receive the residue of her estate. In 2017 she separated from her spouse. She never made a new will.  The issue was whether her ex-spouse was entitled to the residue of the deceased’s estate.

The evidence before the B.C. Supreme Court was that the deceased spoke with her lawyer, and was adamant that her spouse was to still receive her estate as per her will, despite the fact that they separated. The deceased was not aware of s. 56(2) of WESA and the fact that her separation revoked the gift in her will to her spouse. The court held that had she been aware of this, she would have prepared a new will or codicil to ensure the gifts to her spouse were effective.

The deceased repeatedly and unequivocally stated to her lawyer and a friend that she wanted her estate to go to her spouse despite her separation. The court held that the will, including the gifts to the spouse constituted a “document”, which could be given effect as the will of the Deceased, even though parts of it had been technically revoked by the separation. The deceased believed the gifts to her spouse were still valid, and it was her testamentary intention to make those gifts. As a result, the entire will, including the clauses which gifted to her spouse, was admitted to probate.

It is important to consider the effect of a separation on the validity of the terms of your will (including your choice of executor) and take the necessary steps to update your estate plan as your circumstances change. In Jacobson, the judge observed that “it is hard to imagine how the deceased’s testamentary intention could be established more clearly than it is on the evidence before me,” and the court was able to recognize and uphold the deceased’s intentions.  This evidence may not always be available, and you may unintentionally disinherit someone that you intended to benefit under your will.