Estate Litigation

Total 411 Posts

Capacity to Retain and Instruct Counsel

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Estate litigation cases often impact upon persons who are incapable. In particular, an individual may be incapable of, among other things, managing their property or personal care, of making a will (testamentary capacity) and of retaining and/or instructing counsel. The recent case of Guardian Law Group v. LS, 2021 (“Guardian”) reviews the requirements that must be met by counsel to be validly retained to represent an individual. In Guardian, the….

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Capacity Law, Contracts, Estate Litigation, Retainer Agreement

Disclosure of a Party’s Medical Records

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In will challenges, it is common to seek the disclosure of the testator’s medical records for the period around the time the will was signed. The medical records are directly relevant to the question of whether or not she had the requisite capacity to sign the will. While the testator has a right to privacy that continues after death, the harm caused by disclosure of the records after death is….

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Contested wills, Costs, Credibility, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Healthcare, Limitation periods, Wills

TIPS ON BRINGING A PASSING OF ACCOUNTS APPLICATION – PART 5 (FINAL THOUGHTS)

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Today’s blog will wrap up my series of blogs related to bringing an application to pass accounts (the “Passing Application”).[1]  We will look at how an Executor/Trustee completes the Passing Application and obtains a judgment on passing of accounts. A Passing Application will either proceed without a court hearing, if no notices of objection to the accounts were filed or if objections were filed but were formally withdrawn OR with….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation

Increase In House Value Means $1.4 million Gift to SPCA

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For many people who own the house in which they live, their home is the most valuable asset in their estate. In many communities in Canada, house values have steadily increased over the last several years and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that the value of an estate may be much greater at the time of the testator’s death than when the testator prepared and signed the last….

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Capacity Law, Charitable Giving, Contested wills, Estate Litigation

The Court of Appeal Considers if an Application for Retroactive Support can be brought against an Estate

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In Blacklock v. Tkacz, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that pursuant to section 17 of the Divorce Act, an application cannot be brought to claim or vary a child support order against a deceased’s payor’s estate if the original support order does not explicitly bind the payor’s estate. The Appellant was the ex-wife of the deceased. The parties had divorced in the late 1970s and a divorce order granted in 1978…..

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Estate Litigation

When Is A Signature Not A Signature?

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Under the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA), a will or codicil must be “signed” to be valid. The case of BMO Trust Company v. Cosgrove, 2021 ONSC 5681 considered what handwritten form of a person’s name constituted a signature. Nola Louise Bogie hired a lawyer to prepare her will. However, by 2017, Ms. Bogie’s lawyer had been suspended by the Law Society of Upper Canada (as it was then known)…..

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Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Wills
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