Karen Watters

Total 28 Posts

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Karen is a senior estates litigator who represents clients in a variety of proceedings including will challenges, dependant’s relief claims, guardianship applications, and powers of attorney disputes. Karen obtained her law degree from Queen’s University and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2011. More of Karen's blogs can be found at https://devrieslitigation.com/author/kwatters/

You Wear the Executor Hat First

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It’s not easy being an Estate Trustee and a beneficiary. However, an Estate Trustee must be ever mindful that she wears the executor “hat” first. In other words, the duties an Estate Trustee owes to the beneficiaries must come before the Estate Trustee’s own interests. Otherwise an Estate Trustee will be at risk of breaching her fiduciary duties and, at the end of the day, may not be entitled to….

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Compensation, Estate Administration, Trustee Compensation

Campaign Donors Permitted to Advance Trust Claim

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GoFundMe is arguably the most recognized crowd funding platform used by many who seek to raise funds from the public domain to support a defined goal. Legal issues have been raised surrounding the funds donated through platforms such as GoFundMe, particularly when the funds are used for something other than its intended purpose. This issue is at the heart of Maghdoori v. Sanjari, 2022 ONSC 4624 (CanLII) (“Maghdoori”), an application….

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Charitable Giving, Estate Donations, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Trusts

Ordering a Capacity Assessment When it is Resisted

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Section 105 of the Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43 and s. 79 of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30 provide the court with authority to order a capacity assessment, even when the individual objects. It is an extraordinary power but not one that is utilized lightly by the court. A recent decision of the Superior Court of Justice serves as good reminder and review….

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Capacity Law, Uncategorized

Compensation as Attorney for Personal Care: Guided by Reasonableness and Proportionality

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The 2021 decision in Sasso v. Sasso[1] was recently affirmed by the Ontario Court of Appeal. The Sasso case has a few interesting aspects to it but for the purpose of this blog I focus on the claim for compensation which was made by an attorney for personal care. Although it may not happen often, attorneys for personal care can claim compensation. Unlike guardians and attorneys for property, calculating the….

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Attorney Compensation, Caregiving

Best Gets The Rest: Doctrine of Ademption Alive and Well

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In Canada estates and trusts law aims to give effect to a testator’s intentions. This principle is paramount and part of the rationale for the common law doctrine of ademption: if property which is gifted in a will no longer exists at the time of the testator’s death, the gift “adeems” or fails. In part, the doctrine assumes that a testator may have disposed of the property before his death….

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Uncategorized

Is It A Forgery?

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Many of us in the estates and trusts world have encountered a situation where a client or party has alleged that a signature or handwritten note is forged. The evidence of a forensic document examiner, or handwriting expert, is sometimes led to assist a party in establishing that the signature or handwriting is a forgery. In Chishti v. Northside Pharmacy Ltd. et al, 2021 NBQB 35 (CanLII) (“Chishti”), the court….

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Credibility, Estate Litigation
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