Total 413 Posts
We’ve all heard of contempt of court, a common fixture in many courtroom dramas and law-related TV shows. In reality, civil contempt of court is quite uncommon, arising only on occasion during contentious litigation. In the estates context, contempt of court is most often linked to a party’s refusal to account for, release or transfer funds as directed by the court. For a litigant, it can be very disheartening to….
Contempt of Court Continue Reading »
Courts, Estate Litigation
There are a few occasions when you want someone who is not you to have as much money as possible. The first situation is when you are a beneficiary of their estate. The second situation is when you seeking an equalization payment under the Family Law Act. In both situations, you would want the estate/your former spouse to pursue any trust claims they may have without delay. However, as the….
Standing to Bring a Trust Claim – When You Need to Sit Down Continue Reading »
Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Resulting Trust, Separation, Spouse, Trusts
As the holiday season is upon us and the new year approaches, many of us are thinking about time. For those in the litigation world, time, and more specifically, limitation periods, should always be top of mind. This blog serves as a refresher for some of the limitation periods that apply to different estate-related issues. Basic Limitation Period It is well known that generally, a proceeding shall not be commenced….
Father Time: A Limitation Period Refresher Continue Reading »
Contested wills, Courts, Dependant Support, Estate Litigation, Limitation periods, Uncategorized, Wills
In Fanelli v. Fanelli-Bruno, 2023 ONSC 6501, Justice Myers provided clear direction on the principle of proportionality in litigation, and the ways in which it can influence a decision on costs. The decision The estate of Ms. Lina Fanelli, the mother of the Applicant and Respondent, was the subject of the recent Fanelli decision, which was released earlier this month. Approximately one year before her death, Ms. Fanelli drafted….
Proportionality and costs awards Continue Reading »
Contested wills, Costs, Estate Litigation, Undue influence, WillsIn Re James Estate, 2023 ONSC 6432, the Court considered whether a disbarred lawyer could act as the estate trustee of an estate…..
Can a Disbarred Lawyer be an Executor? Continue Reading »
Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, ExecutorsToday’s blog was written by Jonathon Vander Zee, student-at-law at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP The original copy of a last will and testament is lost and cannot be found… now what? Losing an original copy of a will does not necessarily mean that it is no longer legally binding or invalid. Where a copy of the original will exists, a party may make an application to the court to have….
