Contested wills

Total 114 Posts

Curtailing Frivolous Will Challenges

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In Seepa v. Seepa, the court called for a “culture shift” away from boiler plate, consent orders for directions, which are routinely granted in will challenges on the Toronto Estates List. Instead, the court will assess the quality of the allegations made by the applicant will challenger to make out “a minimal evidentiary basis to support the order for directions sought”. Estate litigators would be wise to sharpen their skills and revisit what it….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation

Lost Wills – More Complicated than Losing Your Keys

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Nobody is perfect – sometimes you lose your keys. Other times you lose your will. The problem is, by the time your estate trustee realizes the will is gone, you won’t be around to help look for it. The inability to find a testator’s will does not automatically result in the deceased’s estate being distributed on intestacy. In certain circumstances, a lost or destroyed will may be admitted for probate….

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

Issue Estoppel – Stopping a Second Kick at the Can

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The discovery of holographic wills always send up red flags to estates litigators, especially when the holographic will is a dramatic departure from the prior distribution of the estate. While questions of fraud immediately come to mind, there may also be a limitations problem if the holographic will is found more than two years since a certificate of appointment of estate trustee was issued. Problems may also arise if this….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation

Will Challenges and the Well – Acquainted Lawyer

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Today’s blog was written by Jenna Ward, Articling Student, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin. A recent case of the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan has emphasized the significance of first, the relationship between a testator and his or her lawyer and second, the experience and tenure of such lawyer in assessing testamentary capacity and by extension, in determining the validity of a will. Bachman v. Scheidt, 2016 SKCA 150 Bachman v. Scheidt….

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Contested wills, Credibility, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence, Wills

Videographers Beware

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Occasionally, those hoping to demonstrate the capacity of a testator will film a video of the testator purporting to show that they were cognitively intact or that the will was a reflection of their independent and capable wishes. Unfortunately, the naïve interviewer makes the mistake of confusing the preservation of social graces for intact cognition and considers passive acquiescence as evidence of independence of mind. Clinicians understand, or should understand, that one….

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Undue influence

Court of Appeal Confirms New Approach to Costs in Estate Litigation

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In a recent court of appeal decision, the court upheld the trial judge’s costs award and reiterated the deference allotted to trial judges when exercising discretion to fix costs. In Prelorentzos v. Havaris, the court dismissed the appellant’s appeal.  At trial, the appellant was found to be the deceased’s common law spouse and was awarded $30,000 from his estate.  However, the trial judge was frustrated with the lack of disclosure….

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Contested wills, Wills
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