Estate Litigation

Total 413 Posts

Emotional Support Dogs

I once lost a seat in business class to an alleged Emotional Support Animal (“ESA”). The dog’s owners arrived for a flight in which they were apparently ready to put their alleged ESA, Woofie Goldberg[i], into her carrier and stow her under the seat in front of their own seats. Problems arose when it turned out that the couple had seats immediately behind the bulk head (therefore no seats in….

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Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Uncategorized

Court Rectifies Ambiguous Will

In Mansour v. Girgis, the court was asked to interpret the Deceased’s will and if the will was found to be ambiguous, to rectify a drafting error. The Deceased died in 2012. He never married and never had children. At the time of his death,  he was survived by two siblings who he made provisions for in his testamentary documents.  He also left the residue of his estate to Bishop….

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Estate Litigation

Common Law Spouse Brings an Unjust Enrichment Claim

In Lynk v Bennett Estate, a common law spouse brought an unjust enrichment claim against her late partner’s estate The Deceased, Mr. Bennett, had separated from his wife, Mrs. Bennett in 2004 but never divorced.  He entered into a common law relationship with Ms. Lynk.  They resided together for 15 years until his death. Mr. Bennett died without a will.  Mrs. Bennett applied to administer his estate. At the time….

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Estate Litigation

Will Challenges and Limitation Periods: Court of Appeal Weighs In

The question of whether will challenges fall under the standard two-year limitation period has long been a topic of consideration in lower courts[1]. Does the limitation clock start ticking at the date of death, upon discovering the existence of another will, or when there is knowledge of both the existence and content of another will? The Court of Appeal has finally spoken on the issue … well, sort of…..

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Appeals, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Limitation periods, Wills

Summary Judgment in Estate Litigation, and the Role of a Financial Advisor as a Witness

It is widely known by estate litigation lawyers that the courts are clogged with disputes, often leading to lengthy delays in the obtaining hearing or trial dates.  Summary judgment is one way that the courts can decide cases efficiently.  To achieve a just result, a lengthy trial with oral testimony is not required in every case, and where a trial can be avoided, court resources can be allocated elsewhere.   A….

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Estate Litigation, Undue influence, Wills

Does an Adult Child have an Obligation to Support their Parent?

*This blog was researched and authored by Jonathon Vander Zee, who is an articling student with de VRIES LITIGATION LLP.  There are many different kinds of support that can be sought as relief in a legal proceeding, such as child support, spousal support, and dependant’s support. These types of support are frequently litigated and can often be the central issue in a family or estate dispute. One of the lesser….

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Courts, Dependant Support, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Uncategorized
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