Gillian Fournie

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Gillian is a lawyer with de VRIES LITIGATION LLP. Her practice focuses on the area of trusts and estates litigation. More of Gillian's blogs can be found at https://devrieslitigation.com/author/gfournie/

Friends Helping Friends – Then Forgetting About It

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When asking a friend for a financial favour, people often fail to document their actions and decisions as thoroughly as they should – the trust people have in their friends frequently translates into a belief that they do not need to pay attention. Regardless of whether the trust was deserved, disputes may arise. In those circumstances, you can only hope that your spouse was paying attention while you were not…..

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Attorney Compensation, Compensation, Credibility, Property, Real Estate, Spouse, Trustee, Trustee Compensation

Issue Estoppel – Stopping a Second Kick at the Can

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The discovery of holographic wills always send up red flags to estates litigators, especially when the holographic will is a dramatic departure from the prior distribution of the estate. While questions of fraud immediately come to mind, there may also be a limitations problem if the holographic will is found more than two years since a certificate of appointment of estate trustee was issued. Problems may also arise if this….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation

Medical Emergency Cards – A Logical Follow-up to POAPCs

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As regular readers know, we occasionally invite guest bloggers to contribute to All About Estates  Today’s blog was written by Norman Bowley, a partner and chair of the Estates and Succession Group at Low Murchison Radnoff LLP . In my wallet you will find a plastic card the size of a credit card or driver’s license. It’s all dressed up with our firm’s logo, but it’s what it contains that’s important. Across….

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Elder Care, Estate Planning, Geriatric Care Management, Interest, Power of Attorney

The OPGT and the Case of the Missing Estate Trustee

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As regular readers of this blog well know, not everyone dies with a will. When this happens, the Succession Law Reform Act (Part II) sets out who are the beneficiaries of the estate, while the Estates Act (section 29) ranks in order of priority who may apply to be estate trustee. This statutory system works well, until no one wishes to step into the role of estate trustee. When that….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Executors, Family Conflict

Don’t Look a Gift House in the Mouth

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“A resulting trust arises when title to property is in one party’s name, but that party, because he or she is a fiduciary or gave no value for the property, is under an obligation to return it to the original title owner.” Pecore v Pecore (SCC). In 1969, Luisa immigrated from Portugal to Canada. By 1972, all of Louisa’s seven children had joined her (spanning in ages from 20 to….

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Estate Litigation, Property, Real Estate, Resulting Trust, Trusts

When Business Agreements Masquerade as Trusts

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Trusts are tricky – they can arise in circumstances where none of the parties involved ever use the word “trust.” There is good reason for this; often the settlor of the trust and the trustee are laypeople who can describe the type of relationship they wish to create, but are unaware of the legal terms to describe it. If a lawyer does become involved, she will likely set the terms….

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Trustee, Trusts
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