Estate Litigation

Total 414 Posts

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

To Fight at Any Cost

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Lawsuits often put litigants on an emotional rollercoaster. As the lawsuit progresses and legal bills pile up, some clients start caring less about strategy and more about causing maximum pain to the other side. However, abandoning reason and moderation has a cost – usually in the form of a cost award. Such was the result in Del Giudice v Thompson, 2021 ONSC 5187. While the underlying action in Del Giudice….

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Costs, Estate Litigation

300 Objections. 3 Week Hearing. $325,000 Costs Award.

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Those who practice in the world of estates know that emotions can run high. Estate planning and estate litigation involve relationships and, often, family. And relationships and family are complicated. It can sometimes be hard to be reasonable in the face of difficult emotions. But reasonableness should be a guiding principle for estate trustees and beneficiaries alike. If that warning is not heeded then parties to estate litigation must know….

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Costs, Estate Litigation, Executors, Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts

Reaffirming the Status Quo of Beneficial Designations: the saga of Calmusky v. Calmusky continued

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The Rippling Effects of Calmusky v. Calmusky In March of 2020, Lococo J.’s decision in Calmusky v. Calmusky made waves in Ontario’s legal community. (For this reason, it was included in our top 20 estate law cases of 2020. An excellent summary and analysis of that decision by my colleague Demetre Vasilounis can be found here). By applying the law on the presumption of resulting trust to an RIF, Lococo….

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Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Resulting Trust, Succession Planning
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