This blog was co-authored with Ronald Neal, student-at-law. John the Farmer wanted to buy the family farm after his mother died. His siblings wanted to sell it on the open market. In Janicek v. Janicek, 2018 ONSC 681, the court had to decide which outcome the will dictated. Background The Deceased passed away on October 11, 2012 and left the fate of the family farm in the hands of her….
Buying the (Family) Farm? Continue Reading »
Trustee, Wills
All of us at AllAboutEstates hope you had a happy new year and will have an equally happy 2018. But 2018 must also be a year of vigilance: it is the last year that most historical claims (i.e. claims arising from events that occurred before 2004) can be brought before being forever barred under the ultimate limitation period. Lawyers must advise their clients to bring such claims promptly this year….
2018: The Year of the Ultimate Limitation Period Continue Reading »
Estate LitigationKindly Arlindo Teixeira took care of his elderly neighbour Mary Markgraf. Mary died shortly after writing a large cheque to Arlindo which could not be cashed due to insufficient funds. In Teixeira v. Markgraf Estate, 2017 ONCA 819, the Court of Appeal upheld the application judge’s ruling that this gift failed for lack of delivery. Arlindo helped Mary for nearly 15 years, with household maintenance, driving her to appointments and….
You can’t gift what you don’t have Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation
A remote court appearance service has been approved for use on the Estates List. Under the Rules of Civil Procedure there has always been the ability to conduct certain court appearances via videoconference. However, court approval has always been required (and the consent of the parties, unless the videoconference was made on the court’s own motion). Recently, the process has been updated. A practice advisory dated March 8, 2017 holds….
CourtCalling The Bar Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation
In MacDonald v. Estate of James Pouliot, 2017 ONSC 3629, the court considered a constructive trust and dependant support claim against an intestate estate. While the court granted a constructive trust, it dismissed the dependant support claim as the property at issue had already automatically vested in the beneficiary pursuant to section 9 of the Estates Administration Act. Mary and James lived together as common law spouses for 22 years,….
Estates Administration Act Thwarts Dependant Support Claim Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation
The family law bar must be breathing a sigh of relief after reading the Court of Appeal’s decision in Dagg v. Cameron Estate, 2017 ONCA 366. Both the application judge and the Divisional Court (discussed on this blog, respectively, here and here) held that a life insurance policy taken out pursuant to a separation agreement could be clawed back into the estate for a dependant support claim by the subsequent….
Court of Appeal Limits Dependant Support Claw Back Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation