Estate Litigation

Total 418 Posts

Not So Fast – Who Controls the Body?

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“He knows where the bodies are buried” is a throwaway line from Orson Wells’ cinematic masterpiece, Citizen Kane. That line soon took on a life of its own and entered the cultural vernacular. In the world of estates, a more frequent problem is not finding the bodies but deciding where to bury the bodies. In Miller v. Miller, 2016 ONSC 6625, Justice Myers of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Funeral Planning, Succession Planning, Wills

Interpreting “Per Stirpes” In Ambiguous Wills

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“The ghosts of dissatisfied testators,” a Chancery judge once noted, “Wait on the banks of the Styx for the judges who misconstrued their wills.” As such, the court will take great care to ensure that wills are properly interpreted, even if they are oblique or confusing. This was the situation in Estate of Stanley Moore v. Moore, 2018 ONSC 6420 where the court had to choose between four different interpretations….

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Estate Litigation

Unexpected Death? Apply for an Extension

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Death is difficult to control. It has also proved impossible to avoid. However, married spouses are given greater options than the rest of us – they can choose to inherit their deceased partner’s estate under the Succession Law Reform Act or the Family Law Act. When a married spouse dies without a will, the default is that his or her estate will be distributed pursuant to the rules set out….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Property, Spouse

Buffy the Vampire (Slayer Rule)

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Halloween is right around the corner, so today’s blog post is taking an ominous turn. Informal Reader Poll: What’s scarier? a) A horror movie that’s been remade three times b) Having to remake a client’s will for the third time Now to the fun stuff….. There’s a general principle in law and public policy that no advantage may be gained from one’s own wrongdoing. Some relevant examples are: The Slayer….

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Capacity Law, Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict

Preservation Orders in Estate Litigation

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Estate litigators are very familiar with unique and interesting fact patterns and it is helpful to be reminded that unusual circumstances may warrant the use of somewhat uncommon remedies. Rule 45 of the Rules of Civil Procedure is one such remedy, which provides for the interim preservation of property and can be utilized in an estate proceeding to preserve and even seize property. Rule 45 reads as follows: 45.01 (1)….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict

Summary Judgment and Limitation Periods in the Context of Estate Litigation

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Today’s blog was co-written by Ronald Neal. In Sinclair v Harris, Justice Nakatsuru granted summary judgment on the basis that the claims advanced on behalf of the estate were statute-barred. The deceased passed away in November 2015.  The Plaintiffs are the estate trustees appointed in the deceased’s will (the “Estate Trustees”).  Five years before her death, the deceased advanced approximately $137,333 to her friends (the “Defendants”) so that the Defendants could purchase a….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Joint Tenancy, Loans, Resulting Trust, Uncategorized
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