Estate Litigation

Total 411 Posts

Divisional Court agrees life insurance policy part of estate

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The Divisional Court recently released its decision in Dagg v. Cameron Estate (the trial decision was previously discussed on this blog here). In brief, the appellant Anastasia Cameron married the deceased, Stephen Cameron, in 2003. They had two children. Stephen took out a life insurance policy in 2010 and named Anastasia as the beneficiary. The couple separated in 2012. Stephen began a relationship with the respondent Evangeline Dagg. Divorce proceedings….

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Dependant Support, Estate Litigation, Succession Planning

The Clock Ran Out On This Will Challenge

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Limitations statutes can be unforgiving. One dairy farmer learned this lesson in Reid et al. v Reid; Reid v Reid et al., 2016 ONSC 2098, when his will challenge was dismissed for being commenced out of time. Barry and Robert are brothers. Their parents, Walter and Mary, operated a dairy farm which was held by a family corporation (the parents each held 46.5% of the shares; the children each held….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Trustee, Wills

No Right to Compel a Will be Proven in Solemn Form

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My colleague Gillian Fournie wrote a comprehensive post regarding the Court of Appeal for Ontario’s decision in Neuberger v. York, 2016 ONCA 191. Gillian focused on the Court’s decision that the equitable doctrine of estoppel could not be used as a defence to a will challenge. I thought it might be helpful to expand upon the Court’s other finding in obiter dicta: that there is no automatic right for a….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence, Wills

“Net Value” and the Spouse’s Preferential Share On An Intestacy

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Is the payment and discharge of a mortgage from the proceeds of a mortgage insurance policy to be taken into account in determining the “net value” of the estate for the purposes of determining a spouse’s preferential share? That was the question before the court in the recent case of Re Estate of Richard Lewis Crane. The deceased, Richard Lewis Crane (the “Deceased”), died intestate. He was survived by his….

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Estate Litigation

Challenging Will Challenges – Can they be estopped?

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Will challenges are the cornerstone of estate litigation; indeed, they define the practice area. The reasons for launching a will challenge are relatively fixed: lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence being the most common. Another way of challenging a will is to have it “proved in solemn form.” By seeking to have a will “proved,” the propounder of the will, usually the estate trustee, must demonstrate to the court….

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Contested wills, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, In the News, Wills

Court of Appeal Upholds Testamentary Freedom

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Today’s blog is written by guest blogger Adam Parachin, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has released its decision in Spence Estate (Re) 2016 ONCA 196. In reversing the lower court holding of Justice Gilmore, the Court of Appeal confirmed – wait for it – that testators are not obligated to benefit the persons they are not obligated to benefit. The most astounding feature of the judgment is that it was necessary in the first place…..

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Estate Litigation, Executors, In the News
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