Estate Litigation | All About Estates

Secret Trusts

Steven Frye • January 14, 2020 • 0 Comments

Secret and trusts are essentially trust arrangements made between a testator and a trustee, without written disclosure or agreement of the terms of the arrangement, but where an understanding exists between the parties. Based on precedent in case law, the essential elements of a secret trust are: • An intent by the testator to subject the trustee to an obligation in favour of a beneficiary; • Communication of that intent….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Liability, Resulting Trust, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Costs and the Estate’s Losses

Jacob Kaufman • January 8, 2020 • 1 Comment

Some losses suffered by the estate due to litigation cannot be recovered…..

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Canada Revenue Agency, Contested wills, Costs, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Liability, Tax Issues, Trustee, Wills

Option to Purchase – At What Price?

Rebecca Studin • December 18, 2019 • 0 Comments

Court of Appeal interpreted an option to purchase a business set out in the deceased’s last will…..

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Business Succession Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Executors, Family Conflict, Small Business, Succession Planning, Wills

Can You be Removed as a Trustee Without a Replacement?

Steven Frye • December 17, 2019 • 0 Comments

The recent case of Novak v. McDougall, (2019 SKQB 261), confirms that when you have accepted an appointment to be trustee, you may not be able to have yourself removed from that appointment without a suitable replacement. The applicant in this case, a beneficiary of a “Henson” trust (basically defined as being entitled to distributions from a discretionary trust but having no vested interest in the trust assets) set up….

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Costs, Credibility, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Guardianship, Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts, Resulting Trust, Trustee, Trustee Compensation, Trustee Disputes, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Winner Doesn’t Take All: Estate Trustee Cannot Indemnify for Costs

Jacob Kaufman • December 11, 2019 • 1 Comment

An estate trustee was successful in litigation in upholding the will. However, due to her conduct before and during the litigation the court nevertheless ordered that she personally bear half of her costs in Bayford v. Boese, 2019 ONSC 6919. The estate trustee (a friend of the deceased) sought to uphold the deceased’s will but was challenged by the deceased’s brother (the defendant noted that there were two different versions….

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Estate Litigation

Where have all the sensible litigants gone?

Gillian Fournie • November 27, 2019 • 0 Comments

As a lawsuit winds its way through the courts, more often than not procedural disputes pop up – timetables, disclosure obligations, the scope of examinations of witnesses: these are all areas ripe for disagreements between counsel (and often little understood by clients). The courts generally expect counsel to sort these matters out between themselves. In fact, the Toronto Commercial List has established “three C’s” which counsel are expected to adhere….

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Estate Litigation