Estate Litigation

Total 414 Posts

Solicitor’s Negligence – A Follow Up

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I have previously blogged about solicitor’s negligence and the current state of the law with respect to, in part, determining lawyers’ liability and the applicable standard of care. As a follow-up, below is a brief list of some best practice tips to keep in mind: Communicate – keep the client informed of legal options and obligationsProvide clients with regular updates, even if there is nothing to reportDon’t rely solely on….

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Estate Litigation, Fiduciary Professions, Practice Management

ETDL Appeal is to the Divisional Court – not the Court of Appeal

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What appellate court is the proper forum for an appeal regarding the payment of an estate trustee during litigation’s fees (an “ETDL”)? In Gefen v. Gaertner, 2019 ONCA 233, the Court of Appeal held it was the Divisional Court and not the Court of Appeal. The Gefen Estate (the “Estate”) was embroiled in litigation. The deceased and others had a beneficial interest in various properties which were legally owned by….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Trusts, Wills

Families and Lessons Learnt Along The Way V: 2

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The more people/families I meet, the more I am amazed that there can be so much conflict that continues….. Many estate practices are busy because of familial conflict. We all know families that are not on speaking terms. In most cases, money has something to do with it. I wanted to share with you one family’s story that perhaps can give us pause for reflection and perhaps to change an….

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Estate Donations, Estate Litigation

Passing of Accounts –Made to Measure (Law)Suits

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A passing of accounts is the process whereby an estate trustee (or other fiduciary) provides the beneficiaries with a summary of all estate assets, liabilities, and transactions, in a given period. A passing of accounts can be done informally or through a court application. It provides transparency to the beneficiaries and protection to the estate trustee. Because the role of estate trustee is often filled by family members with little….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts, Trustee, Trustee Disputes, Wills

When is a Gift not a Gift?

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Styres v. Martin 2018 ONCA 956 is a case of a gift that unfolded a saga (not over yet and far from it) of diminished capacity, alleged breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, undue influence to name a few. Mr. Styres lived in a house he built on land given by his father, for about 20 years, when in 1998, he suffered a very serious brain injury….

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Capacity Law, Caregiving, Disability, Estate Litigation, Power of Attorney, Property, Real Estate, Resulting Trust, Trusts, Uncategorized, Undue influence

Some Suggestions on Evaluating Undue Influence in the Court of Public Opinion

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In recent weeks, Canadian politics has been rocked by the so-called “SNC-Lavalin Scandal.” One of the allegations has been whether former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould was pressured or unduly influenced by the Prime Minister’s Office to resolve the corruption and fraud case against SNC-Lavalin in an effort to spare the engineering giant from criminal prosecution. In her February 27, 2019, testimony before the House of Commons, Ms. Wilson-Raybould suggested that….

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Capacity Law, In the News, Undue influence
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