Gillian Fournie

Total 72 Posts

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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/

Motion to Approve Settlement – A Fine Balance

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Rule 7.08 of the Rules of Civil Procedure states that no settlement of a claim involving a person under disability is binding on that person unless the settlement is approved by a judge. Why court approval of settlements is necessary is succinctly summarized in Wu Estate v Zurich Insurance Co.: “The purpose of court approval is plainly to protect the party under disability and to ensure that his or her legal rights….

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Estate Litigation

Application For Directions – Breaking The Impasse

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Impasses between co-trustees, which are not uncommon, have serious results. They can lead to a standstill in the administration of a trust or estate, to the detriment of the beneficiaries. In those circumstances, the court may decide the issue and direct the trustees on how to move forward. Such was the case in Squillace v Sampogna…..

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Estate Planning

Passing of Accounts – Delay and Lost Rent

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Applications to pass accounts are a formal review process of an estate trustee’s (or other types of trustee or guardian) actions in administering an estate. The application is started by the estate trustee, on notice to all beneficiaries of the estate. The beneficiaries are given the opportunity to scrutinize the estate trustee’s accounts and raise objections, anything from a request for further information to allegations of a breach of fiduciary….

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Estate Planning

Challenging Will Challenges – Can they be estopped?

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Will challenges are the cornerstone of estate litigation; indeed, they define the practice area. The reasons for launching a will challenge are relatively fixed: lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence being the most common. Another way of challenging a will is to have it “proved in solemn form.” By seeking to have a will “proved,” the propounder of the will, usually the estate trustee, must demonstrate to the court….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, In the News, Wills

Support, Divorce, and Insolvency

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Even when a dependant’s entitlement to and need for support is clear, there simply may not be enough money in the estate to provide assistance. For this reason, the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) allows certain assets passing outside of the estate (often to a designated beneficiary) to be clawed back into the estate for the limited purpose of providing a dependant with support. The designated beneficiary may be tempted….

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Dependant Support, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Spouse

Acting as (Unofficial) Attorney for Property

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Power of attorney (“POA”) documents are a way of officially granting an agent (the “attorney”) the power to manage your affairs, most commonly your finances or personal care. POAs allow the attorney to step in and handle a wide variety of issues on your behalf, whether you (the “grantor”) anticipated those issues arising or not. While acting pursuant to a POA, the attorney owes you a “fiduciary duty,” which means….

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Attorney Compensation, Compensation, Power of Attorney, Trustee Compensation
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