Contested wills – Page 18 – All About Estates

Court of Appeal Affirms “Good Sense” of Excluding Evidence of Testator’s Intentions

Justin de Vries • July 7, 2011

Yesterday, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Robinson Estate. The decision acknowledged the trend in Canadian jurisprudence towards admitting extrinsic evidence of the testator’s circumstances and those surrounding the making of the will. However, the Court found that it was not open to the application judge to determine Blanca’s intention based on evidence from third parties about her testamentary intentions. ….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Wills

The Costs of Upholding A Testator’s Intention

Angelique Moss • April 19, 2011

When opposing a dependant support claim on the grounds that you are upholding the intentions of a testator, as this recent B.C. case indicates, think carefully about the possible cost consequences of so doing before proceeding to trial…..

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Wills

Collaborative Law: Does it Have a Place in the Estate and Trusts World?

Jasmine Sweatman • February 11, 2011

The collaborative law process has traditionally been used in the family law realm, but is it time for the estate and trust bar to use it?….

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Contested wills, Elder Law, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Wills

Is Anyone Listening? Costs and Judicial Resources

Angelique Moss • February 1, 2011

How is it possible for five parties to incur $4,435,050.18 of costs essentially on a four day hearing? The recipe is one part deafness, and one part unreasonableness. ….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Executors, Trustee Disputes, Wills

Summary Judgment Dismissed: Notes Support Suspicion of Undue Influence

Diane Vieira • January 24, 2011 • 1 Comment

The capacity assessor’s notes confirmed that the testator had testamentary capacity but also raised the issue of undue influence. Summary judgment dismissed on the issue of undue influence….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Wills

Werbenuk v. Werbenuk: Righting a Will’s (and a testator’s) Wrongs

Angelique Moss • December 9, 2010 • 2 Comments

A testator excludes his 4 adult daughters from his estate, leaving everything to his son. A B.C. court effectively redistributes the estate equally between the testator’s children. Can this happen in Ontario too?….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Succession Planning, Wills