Estate Litigation

Total 411 Posts

Haddock v. Haddock: Interpreting a Cottage Bequest

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In Haddock v. Haddock (2025 ONSC 6287), the court was asked to interpret a clause in the deceased’s 2012 will dealing with a bequest of her cottage to one of her three surviving children. The deceased died in 2022, leaving her children as co-estate trustees. Her estate consisted primarily of the cottage and TD Bank investment accounts. The will provided a specific gift to the grandchildren, divided the residue equally….

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Estate Litigation, Property, Wills

Presumption of Resulting Trusts: Lessons from Atkins v Chamberlain for Joint Accounts

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Today’s post was written by Nina Fainman-Adelman, Associate and Ashely Thornton, Articling Student, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP Resulting trusts is an equity-based tool for reallocating property when legal joint title does not reflect the intentions of a testator who held the property or account jointly with another individual. A resulting trust responds to the absence of donative intent: equity presumes that a transferor did not intend to make a gift….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Joint Tenancy

The Neverending Story – Joint Accounts

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Scotiatrust

This blog post was written by: Alicia Mossington, Estate and Trust Consultant, Scotiatrust London Although almost 18 years have passed since the release of the decision in Pecore, questions about joint ownership of assets in estate planning continue to be the number one items raised by estate planning clients for this author.   In 2025, the saga of estate litigation following joint ownership continues.   In Ontario, the most common….

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Estate Litigation, Investments, Joint Tenancy, Resulting Trust

Review or Update Your Will Every Few Years—Your Beneficiaries Will Thank You

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This blog has been written by JOSEPH STONEHOUSE, litigation associate at Fasken LLP (Toronto) In a recent decision, Justice Myers of the Superior Court of Justice dismissed claims by beneficiaries under a will against the drafter because those claims were brought more than 15 years after the defendant drafted the will. The court determined that, despite the perceived unfairness, the legislative intent behind the Limitations Act necessitated striking the plaintiffs’ claims…..

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Contested wills, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Executors, Limitation periods, Succession Planning, Wills

Can a Dependant Support Claim Be an Abuse of Process?

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In the recent decision of Sabarros v. Morrell, 2025 ONSC 6122 (CanLII), the Court considered whether the dependant support claim by the adult child to whom the deceased never provided support could be dismissed as frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process. Facts: Karen Sabarros commenced two proceedings against the estate of her late father: a claim for dependant’s relief under section 58 of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”)….

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Estate Litigation

Rule 7 and New Ontario Regulation 173/25

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The multi-faceted Rule 7 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure often comes into play in estate litigation. Generally, in estates cases, the Rule may be engaged when there is a settlement impacting a person under disability (i.e. a minor, an absentee within the meaning of the Absentees Act, or a person who is mentally incapable within the meaning of section 6 or 45 of the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 in….

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Capacity Law, Courts, Disability, Estate Litigation, Guardianship, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Uncategorized
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