Contested wills

Total 116 Posts

No Right to Compel a Will be Proven in Solemn Form

•

My colleague Gillian Fournie wrote a comprehensive post regarding the Court of Appeal for Ontario’s decision in Neuberger v. York, 2016 ONCA 191. Gillian focused on the Court’s decision that the equitable doctrine of estoppel could not be used as a defence to a will challenge. I thought it might be helpful to expand upon the Court’s other finding in obiter dicta: that there is no automatic right for a….

No Right to Compel a Will be Proven in Solemn Form Continue Reading »

Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence, Wills

Challenging Will Challenges – Can they be estopped?

•

Will challenges are the cornerstone of estate litigation; indeed, they define the practice area. The reasons for launching a will challenge are relatively fixed: lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence being the most common. Another way of challenging a will is to have it “proved in solemn form.” By seeking to have a will “proved,” the propounder of the will, usually the estate trustee, must demonstrate to the court….

Challenging Will Challenges – Can they be estopped? Continue Reading »

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

Capacity to execute a Will or POA: “Who and why” may be more important than “what”

•

I write as a clinician directed by case law or statutory law when assessing the capacity of a testator or an individual executing Powers of Attorney. The criteria set out in case law (Banks v Goodfellow) for testamentary capacity have traditionally been weighted toward the notion of “what” the testator knows about their assets and their potential beneficiaries.  To be fair, there is a provision (somewhat vague) about the appreciation….

Capacity to execute a Will or POA: “Who and why” may be more important than “what” Continue Reading »

Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Planning, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

Looking back, looking forward

•

At year end, we typically engage in a retrospective examination, looking back on events and trying to make sense of them.  Simultaneously, there is a human instinct to make predictions as well as resolutions, both of which are notoriously unreliable.  The notion of predicting the future is one that is inherent in medicine by virtue of the fundamental role of a physician to make a diagnosis, but also concomitantly a….

Looking back, looking forward Continue Reading »

Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Undue influence

Nobel Peace Prize’s Breach of Trust?

•

Norwegian lawyer Fredrik Heffermehl thinks the Nobel Foundation has blatantly ignored the intentions of Alfred Nobel for his namesake Peace Prize. Nobel’s will stipulated that the prize be awarded to the ”most worthy champions of peace”. Specifically it should go to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and….

Nobel Peace Prize’s Breach of Trust? Continue Reading »

Charitable Giving, Contested wills, Philanthropy/Charitable Giving, Trustee Disputes

AVOIDING PROBATE FEES WITH A POWER OF ATTORNEY?

•

Much has been written about probate fee avoidance. Can you with a power of attorney engage in probate fee avoidance on behalf of a testator whose estate may be subject to probate fees?
….

AVOIDING PROBATE FEES WITH A POWER OF ATTORNEY? Continue Reading »

Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Guardianship, Joint Tenancy, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Probate Tax, Property, Wills
Scroll to Top