The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. The British Columbia Law Institute published Undue Influence Recognition and Prevention, A Guide for Legal Practitioners:  https://www.bcli.org/publication/undue-influence-recognition-and-prevention-a-guide-for-legal-practitioners/
2. Darien Murray at Hull & Hull LLP (Ontario) writes about a recent Ontario decision on whether a solicitor owes a duty of care to third party beneficiaries: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2023/01/hall-v-bennett-estate-disappointed-beneficiaries/.
3. Chris Cook at de Vries Litigation LLP (Ontario) discusses mirror wills and mutual wills: https://devrieslitigation.com/mirror-and-mutual-wills/?v=m
4. David Morgan Smith at Hull & Hull LLP discusses the duty of an estate trustee to make prudent investments: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2023/01/exercising-discretion-the-duty-of-an-estate-trustee-to-prudently-invest/
5. Onyx Law (Vancouver) writes about the duty of an executor to communicate with beneficiaries: https://onyxlaw.ca/executor-not-communicating-with-beneficiaries/
6. Estate Litigation in the News: CBC News recently published an article on a challenge to a handwritten will leaving a condo to a church: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/common-law-church-condo-court-1.6725883
7. Estate Litigation and Celebrities:  Priscilla Presley is contesting the validity of Lisa Maria Presley’s will: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64461305

Happy reading!

The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Sara Moledina at Hull & Hull LLP (Ontario) writes about a recent Ontario decision which discusses challenges to the validity of powers of attorney: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/12/challenging-a-power-of-attorney-for-lack-of-capacity/
2. Brett Brock at WEL Partners (Toronto) writes about a recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision regarding interpretation of a clause in a will and the application of the “armchair rule”: Revisiting the “Armchair Rule” in Jonas v. Jonas | WEL Partners Blog
3. Onyx Law Group published a useful primer on alter ego trusts: What is an Alter Ego Trust? (2023) | Onyx Law Group
4. James Steele at Robertson Stromberg LLP discusses a recent Saskatchewan case in which the executors of the estate were removed due to extreme delay in administering the estate: Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Nagy v. Graves, 2022 CarswellSask 590, 2022 SKKB 257 | Saskatchewan Estate Law Blog (skestatelaw.ca)
5. Sara Moledina also discusses an interesting case where one of the witnesses to a will (who was an employee of the deceased) later refused to sign an affidavit confirming that she witnessed the deceased’s signature until her complaint regarding severance was resolved:  https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/12/witness-to-a-will-refuses-to-provide-affidavit-based-on-contentious-severance-pay/
6. Albert Oosterhoff (also at WEL Partners) provides a detailed analysis of a United Kingdom Supreme Court case which discusses proprietary estoppel: Proprietary Estoppel: Guest v Guest | WEL Partners Blog

Happy reading and Happy New Year!

The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Stan Rule at Sabey Rule (Kelowna) writes about when a promise to leave someone property in your will is enforceable, with reference to an English case.  This can be compared to the recent B.C. Supreme Court case that I discussed in a post on expectations to inherit and equitable remedies found here. Stan’s post can be found here: Rule of Law: The Taciturn and Undemonstrative Men of Somerset (rulelaw.blogspot.com)
2. Suzana Popovic-Montag at Hull & Hull LLP (Ontario) writes about the dangers of distributing an estate before obtaining a tax clearance certificate: H&H | Beware the Dangers of Distributing an Estate Without a Tax Clearance Certificate (hullandhull.com)
3. Suzana and Geoffrey Sculthorpe (again at Hull & Hull LLP) post about how to prove a lost will: H&H | Revisiting the Rebuttable Presumption: Proving a Lost Will (hullandhull.com)
4. Albert Oosterhoff at WEL Partners (Toronto) posts about the effect of delusions on testamentary capacity, with reference to an English case: Delusions and Testamentary Capacity | WEL Partners Blog
5. While not an estates case, a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision made the news, in which the court cancelled a marriage annulment, after finding that the women who appeared at the original hearing (which was conducted remotely, in this case it appears by telephone) was an imposter.  The true spouse did not find out until sometime later that her marriage had been annulled by the court: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/imposter-wife-court-marriage-1.6660517

Happy reading!

The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Stan Rule at Sabey Rule writes about a recent B.C. decision which considers whether an interest in a discretionary trust is “family property” that should be divided in a family law action: Rule of Law: Cottrell v. Cottrell (rulelaw.blogspot.com)
2. Artur Adamian at Hull & Hull LLP (Ontario) posts about an Ontario case which awarded interest to a beneficiary when the administration of the estate took longer than the “executor’s year”: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/10/interest-payable-when-the-executors-year-ends/
3. Artur Adamian also posted about a recent Ontario decision in which a residual beneficiary was ordered to pay occupational rent for occupying estate property: H&H | No Such Thing as Free Rent (hullandhull.com)
4. Oliver O’Brien at WEL Partners (Toronto) comments on an Ontario decision which held that BMO Nesbitt Burns did not have a duty to one spouse to disclose that the other spouse removed her as a designated beneficiary: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/10/corroboration-and-material-facts-a-look-at-the-recent-case-of-fair-v-bmo-nesbitt-burns-inc/
5. Elaine Yu at de Vries Litigation LLP (Ontario) writes about a case dealing with a familiar dispute: two siblings who cannot get along and act together for their parent pursuant to a power of attorney: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/10/corroboration-and-material-facts-a-look-at-the-recent-case-of-fair-v-bmo-nesbitt-burns-inc/
6. Robertson Stomberg (Saskatchewan) posts about a recent Saskatchewan court decision in which a challenge to the validity of a will (on the basis of lack of capacity or coercion) was summarily dismissed as there was no genuine issue raised: https://skestatelaw.ca/2022/11/01/saskatchewan-estate-litigation-update-bell-v-bell-2022-skqb-198/

Happy reading!

The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Stan Rule at Sabey Rule comments on a recent B.C. decision on disgorgement – awarding profits to beneficiaries when a trustee or other fiduciary profits from a breach of their obligations: http://rulelaw.blogspot.com/2022/09/chung-v-chung.html
2. Dairen Murray at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) writes on making reasonable efforts to locate a will when a loved one has died: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/09/where-to-look-for-a-will/
3. Albert Oosterhoff at WEL Partners (Toronto) posts on the determination of whether a gift of real property for a limited time is a licence or a life estate: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/10/life-estate-or-licence-a-continuing-conundrum/
4. Karen Watters at de Vries Litigation LLP (in Ontario) writes on undue influence in inter vivos transfers: https://devrieslitigation.com/undue-influence-in-inter-vivos-transfers/
5. Aanchal Bajaj, also at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario), comments on a recent Ontario decision on the issue of the treatment of a beneficiary designation for an RRSP when the account was converted to an RRIF (a reminder to update beneficiary designations if converting!): https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/09/what-is-the-requirement-for-the-designation-of-income-funds-to-beneficiaries/
6. Of note to lawyers, James Steele at Robertson Stromberg (Saskatchewan) writes about a recent Saskatchewan decision which prohibits the practice of altering an affidavit (“slip-sheeting”) after it has been sworn.  The affidavit must be re-sworn: https://skestatelaw.ca/2022/09/08/saskatchewan-estate-litigation-update-peters-estate-re-2022-skqb-186/
7. CBC reports on Western University asking the Ontario courts for permission to remove the name of a professor from six academic prizes funded by his estate, following criticism that he espoused radical, racist views: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/kenneth-hilborn-western-university-scholarship-1.6573668

Happy reading!

The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. I was asked to provide comments for a recent article in Investment Executive: Disinherited children win big in Alberta and B.C. courts  | Investment Executive
2. This month, the lawyers at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) posted several articles on settlement in the estate litigation context, including these two articles on the requisite elements of a settlement agreement, and enforcement of settlement agreements: H&H | The Requisite Elements of a Binding Settlement (hullandhull.com) and H&H | A Deal is a Deal: Enforcing a Settlement Agreement (hullandhull.com)
3. Brett Book at WEL Partners (Toronto) wrote on the capacity to marry: Capacity to Marry – Tanti v. Tanti | WEL Partners Blog
4. CBC News recently published an investigative report on a case of elder abuse: ‘Who can you trust?’ (cbc.ca)

Happy reading!

The following is a round-up of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Ashley Naipaul at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) discusses an Alberta case which considered whether the court ought to look at the reasons behind a person’s decision to revoke their power of attorney as part of the determination of whether that person had capacity to make the revocation: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/05/questioning-the-decision-to-revoke-or-grant-a-poa-where-capacity-and-autonomy-intersect/
2. Albert Oosterhoff at WEL Partners (Toronto) discusses the doctrine of ademption – what happens if a will-maker makes a specific gift in their will, but then the property no longer exists or is no longer owned by the will-maker at the date of death: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/05/ademption-by-conversion-best-v-hendry/
3. Kantor LLP (Calgary) posts about a recent Alberta case in which an executor was removed because they were taking too long to administer the estate: https://www.kantorllp.ca/blog/failure-to-act-results-in-personal-representative-removal/
4. Candace Cho (Onyx Law Group) writes about the issue of whether a plaintiff was a “spouse” who was entitled to claim under an intestacy: https://onyxlaw.ca/bc-inheritance-turns-on-common-law-relationship-status/
5. Albert Oosterhoff at WEL Partners (Toronto) considers when the duty to keep accounts begins for someone who holds a power of attorney: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/05/when-does-an-attorneys-duty-to-keep-accounts-begin/
6. The B.C. Director of Civil Forfeiture has sued to confiscate $120,000 (a package of $50, $20 and $10 bills) from the estate of a man found dead of an overdose, claiming that the deceased was a drug trafficker, and the monies were proceeds of crime:https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/civil-forfeiture-drug-trafficking-sametz-1.6468682

Happy reading!

The following is a roundup of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Last week, I wrote a post about whether unconscionable procurement is part of the law in British Columbia. John Poyser at at WEL Partners (Toronto) wrote about the same issue in Ontario (based on a recent Ontario decision): https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/04/is-unconscionable-procurement-properly-part-of-the-law-in-ontario/
2. Stuart Clark at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) discusses what happens when an overpayment is made to a beneficiary: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/04/overpayment-to-beneficiaries-do-beneficiaries-need-to-return-a-distribution-made-in-error/
3. Candace Cho at Onyx Law writes about costs in committeeship proceedings: https://onyxlaw.ca/the-legal-costs-of-bc-committeeship-applications/
4. Albert Oosterhoff, also at WEL Partneres writes about how someone can become a trustee: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/04/how-do-you-become-a-trustee/
5. The Vancouver Sun covered a lawsuit recently commenced by two family members to get a share of their deceased mother’s $3-million lottery winnings.  This will be an interesting one: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/late-vancouver-island-womans-family-court-bound-over-her-3-million-lottery-jackpot

Happy reading!

The following is a roundup of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Stan Rule at Sabey Rule discusses a recent B.C. case in which the parties incurred significant legal fees to litigate an estate dispute, which could have been avoided had there been early financial disclosure: http://rulelaw.blogspot.com/2022/03/avoidable-legal-expenses-in-estate.html
2. Paul Trudelle at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) discusses a recent Alberta case which considered how to interpret a clause in a will allowing a beneficiary to live in a house “for a while”: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/03/will-interpretation-how-long-is-for-awhile/
3. Rebecca Betel at WEL Partners (Toronto) writes about a recent Ontario decision about the obligations of estate trustees to keep proper accounts and records: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/03/case-review-pinard-et-al-v-gilchrist-et-al/
4. Suzana Popovic-Montag and Raphael Leitz at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) discuss what is meant when a trustee is given “absolute discretion”: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/03/the-exercise-of-discretion-not-so-absolute/
5. Bob Saget’s family has now obtained a permanent injunction blocking the release of certain records related to the death investigation of the late Bob Saget: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/14/entertainment/bob-saget-injunction/index.html

Happy reading!

The following is a roundup of noteworthy articles published this month on estate litigation and related issues:

1. Suzana Popovic-Montag at Hull & Hull LLP (in Ontario) discusses a recent Ontario case on the issue of entitlement to costs in estate litigation: https://hullandhull.com/Knowledge/2022/02/court-of-appeal-issues-new-decision-directing-how-to-award-costs-in-estate-litigation/
2. Bryan Gilmartin at WEL Partners (Toronto) continued a series on the issue of dealing with a deceased’s remains: https://welpartners.com/blog/2022/02/what-remains-series-6-is-the-estate-trustee-obligated-to-consider-the-deceaseds-wishes/
3. Bob Saget’s family applied to block public release of death records due to privacy concerns (https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/saget-family-sues-1.6353623) and the judge granted a temporary injunction (https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/entertainment/bob-saget-family-lawsuit/index.html).  I have previously written on the issue of privacy in estate cases in the Canadian courts here.
4. Trevor Todd at Disinherited.com writes about the principle of disgorgement: https://disinherited.com/uncategorized/the-equitable-principle-of-disgorgement/

Happy reading!