Not all parties involved in estate administration are entitled to apply for a passing of accounts. Section 42(4) of the Substitute Decisions Act (SDA) lists all the people who may apply. While the list does not include estate trustees or beneficiaries of an estate, it does allow the court discretion to give leave to appeal when it sees fit. In Testa v Testa (2015 ONSC 2381) the court explored when….

Today’s Blog was Written by Jacob Kaufman The Divisional Court has just written another chapter in the ongoing saga of a dispute between two sisters, Erna and Hilda, who have been in litigation against each other since 2003. Erna had acted as attorney for property of her parents since 2002 and as estate trustee of her mother since 2008. In the case of In the Estate of Stefanie Aber, deceased,….

In my last blog of August 14, 2015 I referred to the discretionary family trust as being one of the key tools in the estate planner’s toolbox. I made this statement given the flexible nature of this tool. I also, however, noted that it is often the case that little time is spent with the creator of the trust to detail their intent as to the circumstances for when the trustee is to make a distribution to a beneficiary…..