Contested wills

Total 114 Posts

Disproportionate Inheritance? WESA to the Rescue

This blog was written by Aathiya Bala, Associate Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management   Nahar and Nihal Litt arrived from India in 1964 with modest beginnings. The couple worked tireless hours building their family’s farm business estate for decades. Their children, who were between the ages of three and fourteen when arriving to Canada, helped cultivate their family business throughout the years. The family began to acquire….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, In the News

Too much “Legalese” – Better Pay Attention!

  This Blog was written by: Emily Racine   While reviewing wills with clients, the focus is often on the dispositive provisions of the will; in other words, clients tend to focus on the first five pages of the will and leave the rest to the lawyers. For the most part, this is for good reason. Wills often contain 10 or more pages of boiler plate language that can put….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Uncategorized, Wills

You Better Think (Think)…About the Estate Planning Process

This blog was written by Lara Besharat In August 2018, renowned singer Aretha Franklin died of pancreatic cancer in her home in Detroit, leaving behind an illustrious musical legacy, a strong history of civil rights activism, four children, and an estimated $80-million-dollar fortune. One thing she didn’t leave behind, however, was a will. Or so we thought. For months, it was believed that the Queen of Soul died intestate, going….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, In the News, Wills

Lucid Intervals and Testamentary Capacity

As I understand, “lucid interval” is a legal doctrine that holds that testamentary capacity may exist at a moment in time even though the testator’s general state would be inconsistent with the conclusion that he possessed testamentary capacity.[i] The idea is that an individual who suffers from mental illness or a neurological condition may have periods in which his or her ability to reason and make thoughtful choices is preserved…..

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Wills

Milne Estate (Re)visited

Today’s blog was co-authored by Joanna Lindenberg and Ronald Neal The decision of Milne Estate (Re) (“Milne”) caused a stir among the members of the estates bar and solicitors who draft wills, going so far as to illicit an alert from LawPRO. While the Milne decision (which is under appeal) has garnered a great deal of attention and commentary from lawyers (including Justin de Vries’ blog, which you can read….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, In the News, Succession Planning, Trusts, Wills

Buffy the Vampire (Slayer Rule)

Halloween is right around the corner, so today’s blog post is taking an ominous turn. Informal Reader Poll: What’s scarier? a) A horror movie that’s been remade three times b) Having to remake a client’s will for the third time Now to the fun stuff….. There’s a general principle in law and public policy that no advantage may be gained from one’s own wrongdoing. Some relevant examples are: The Slayer….

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict
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