Estate Litigation

Total 422 Posts

What Happens to the Residue of an Estate when a Life Tenant Survives all other Beneficiaries?

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In a recent British Columbia case, the court was asked to interpret the residue clause of a will. The testator’s wife held a life interest in the Estate’s property and was a beneficiary of an ongoing testamentary trust. However, both her stepchildren (and presumed receipients of the residue of the Estate) predeceased her. Background  The testator died in 1979.  He was survived by his second wife (Marion), his adult son….

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Estate Litigation, Wills

A Refresher: Knowledge and Approval and its Connection to Suspicious Circumstances

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A testator must have knowledge and approved of the contents of her will. This is one of the requisite elements for proving a will in a solemn form. Knowledge and approval, and its closely related cousin of due execution, is generally viewed as an easier test to meet compared with testamentary capacity. But knowledge and approval may be difficult to establish where suspicious circumstances exists. Ordinarily if certain conditions are….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation

General Revocation Clause in Will was Insufficient to Revoke Beneficiary Designations

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In Alger v. Crumb, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a general revocation clause in a will did not revoke the testator’s TFSA and RRIF beneficiary designations. The Court concluded that under s. 51 and s. 52 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”), the beneficiary designations have to be expressly referenced in a revocation clause and dismissed the appeal. Background The testator was survived by her four children.  Her four….

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Estate Litigation

Adding New Parties to An Existing Litigation?

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Joinder In the world of estate law, litigation is often unavoidable. Sometimes, facts and players will emerge after the initial pleadings stage, i.e., after litigation has already begun. In that case, a notice of application or statement of claim must be amended to add further respondents who are not already part of the litigation. This addition of new parties is also called “joinder”. Joinder is addressed under Rule 26.01 and….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Trustee Disputes, Uncategorized

The Vexatious Litigant

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Litigation can be ugly. Litigation where family is involved, as is often the case in estate litigation, can bring out the worst in people. According to the court, the worst of himself is what one of the respondents brought in the recent case of Colbert v. Colbert et al, 2023 ONSC 811 (“Colbert”) going so far as to declare the respondent in question a ‘vexatious litigant’. The term ‘vexatious litigant’….

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Estate Litigation
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