Estate Litigation

Total 416 Posts

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….

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

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….

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

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

“If You See Something, Say Something”*

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Do you have a ‘TCP’? While I am not a fan of using acronyms, ‘TCP’I is one you want to know.  It is shortform for ‘Trusted Contact Person’. “The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced July 15 that regulators are adopting amendments to National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, which require advisors to collect the name and contact information of a trusted contact person (TCP), along with the client’s written….

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Elder Care, Undue influence

A Tale of Two Versions: The Court of Appeal Invalidates a Will

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My colleague Joanna Lindenberg and I had previously blogged on the case of Bayford v. Boese (the decision and the costs decision, respectively) where the court upheld the validity of a challenged will (the second of two ‘versions’ of the same will). However, in Bayford v. Boese, 2021 ONCA 442 the Court of Appeal has set aside the lower court’s decision and invalided the will. The deceased Bruce Boese had….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Executors, Wills

No Costs For You!

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The recent case of Donovan v. MacKenzie, 2021 ONSC 1865 (CanLII) demonstrates the wide and sometimes unpredictable nature of a judge’s discretion when it comes to costs. In this guardianship dispute, the applicant sister (“Jacqueline”) and the respondent brother (“Kieran”) were embroiled in litigation relating to their father, John Kenneth MacKenzie (“John”). Litigation was commenced in October 2017 by Jacqueline pursuant to the Substitute Decisions Act to be appointed as….

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Capacity Law, Costs, Courts, Elder Care, Elder Law, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Guardianship, POA Compensation, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes
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