Contested wills

Total 116 Posts

Milne Estate (Re)visited

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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)

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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

The Importance of Being Original

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This Blog was written by: Emily Racine   As we know, the statistics are less than ideal for the number of Canadians who have a will let alone a recently updated one. That being said, having a will is not enough – it is important to have the original will. In order to apply for probate in Ontario, the original will must be turned over to the probate court. If….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Uncategorized, Wills

A Roadblock for Multiple Wills

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Today’s blog was written by Justin W. de Vries and Jacob Kaufman A will need not be probated. The power of an estate trustee derives from the will itself. However, in certain cases, a grant of probate (now awkwardly called a certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will) is needed and the estate trustee will have no choice but to apply for probate and to pay the accompanying….

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

Where’s There is a Will (and a Clear One), There is a Way!

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In Campbell v Evert 2018 ONSC 593, the deceased had, in the decade prior to her passing, transferred to Mr. Evert (one of the “kids”) the family cottage valued at $145,000. In her will later that year,  she made a specific bequest of $145,000 to Ms. Campbell, the other “kid’, which was consistent with the value of the cottage at that time. Several years later and prior to her passing,….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Executors, Property, Real Estate, Testamentary Capacity, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Estate Trustees and Costs of Litigation: Try not to take it personally?

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In the work I do, I am asked to provide expert testimony to support litigation. In some cases, I am often quite surprised to what extent parties will continue to litigate matters that appear to be “no-wins” or for small dollar amounts. Depending on the circumstances, parties have taken the personal brunt of litigation costs that may far exceed the amount in question, due primarily to their own intransigence. A….

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Attorney Compensation, Contested wills, Costs, Estate Administration, Executors, Family Conflict, Liability, Property, Trustee, Trustee Disputes, Uncategorized, Wills
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