Estate Litigation

Total 413 Posts

Successful Will Challenge Yields Blended Cost Award

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The Applicant (the Deceased’s son) brought an application seeking to invalidate the Deceased’s 2023 Will, submit the Deceased’s 2022 Will for probate, and seek the return of the Deceased’s $95,000 gift to his nephew. The Deceased executed wills on March 16, 2022 and November 22, 2023. In his 2022 Will, the Applicant is named as the estate trustee, the Deceased gifts his home and its contents to the Applicant and names the….

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Estate Litigation, Wills

Modern Families: References to Children and Issue in Wills

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  Today’s blog was written by Karen La Caprara, Counsel, at Fasken LLP. Like many modern families, the fictional Pritchett family in the series “Modern Family” has a variety of personalities, family dynamics and relationships, traditional and modern viewpoints. The many possible iterations and permutations of what makes a family is a beautiful thing. But, it can also create complexity when it comes to defining who is and who is….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Wills

Undue Influence: A Primer

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Generally, the validity of a last will and testament can be challenged on the basis of: (i) lack of testamentary capacity; (ii) undue influence; (iii) lack of knowledge and approval of the will; and/or (iv) fraud. While allegations relating to undue influence often go hand-in-hand with claims relating to lack of testamentary capacity, it is not always so. In fact, undue influence may exist even where the testator has capacity….

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Contested wills, Courts, Estate Litigation, Undue influence, Wills

Is it a Digital Will?

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Today’s blog was written by K. Thomas Grozinger, C.S., LL.B., TEP, Principal Trust Specialist with RBC Royal Trust Our lives continue to be impacted by rapid changes in technology. In an era where many aspects of daily living involve interaction with some form of electronic or digital media, even estate planning and estate administration are not immune to the developments of the Information Age.  As evidence of just how pervasive….

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Estate Litigation, Wills

The Interpretation of Wills

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Tangled Ropes Photo by Malcolm Burrows

Mohapel v. Young, 2024 ONSC 1332 is a recent case which addresses the issue of will interpretation. The applicant, Iva Mohapel (“Iva”), sought an order that the respondent estate trustee, Doulgas Michael Charles Young (the “ET”), distribute the residue of the estate in four equal shares to her and each of the respondents (children of the deceased). Paragraphs 4(e) and (f) of the deceased’s November 3, 2022 last will and….

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Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Uncategorized, Wills

Contempt and Custodial Sentences

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A storm approaches. The vista of mountains and a man standing upon a mountain that the storm has not yet reached.

On the de VRIES LITIGATION LLP website, I previously blogged about orders for contempt and the nuances associated with seeking and obtaining this declaratory relief. This blog will take the discussion a step further and look at what penalties may be imposed upon a contemnor; in particular, the discussion will centre upon the penalty of jail time or a custodial sentence (these terms will be used interchangeably) for civil contempt…..

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Courts, Estate Litigation, Executors, Fiduciary Professions, Liability, Trustee
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