Family Conflict

Total 262 Posts

Walters v. Walters: Limits to “Absolute Discretion” and Judicial Intervention by: Yvonne Mazurak

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A recent Court of Appeal decision, Walters v Walters, 2022 ONCA 38, addresses a trustee’s requirement to give effect to a testator or settlor’s intentions when exercising discretion with respect to distributions from a discretionary trust. At issue was whether the trustees had improperly relied on extraneous or irrelevant factors when exercising such discretion. The decision, written by Justice Sarah Pepall for the Court, is a helpful read as it….

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

Love After Loss- is it possible?

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Happy Monday and happy Valentine’s Day.  I truly am one of the lucky ones and I want to say thank you to my husband of  38 years. However  we live our lives, having a loving relationship is so important. As we are living longer, I am also well aware that we all age differently and we don’t know what (ill health) waits for us around the corner. The topic of….

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Elder Care, Family Conflict

Shingeki no Kyojin: An Anime Unexpectedly About Family, Legacy and Succession

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Last week, my colleague Yvonne Mazurak wrote a blog post about a recently-released television show, And Just Like That, discussing the estate planning issues highlighted by the events of the show. So, I thought I would provide a bit of a television recommendation show of my own…although my taste is a bit different. For this post, I’d like to highlight Shingeki no Kyojin (in English: Attack on Titan), one of….

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Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Healthcare, In the News, Interest, Wills

Disclosure of a Party’s Medical Records

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In will challenges, it is common to seek the disclosure of the testator’s medical records for the period around the time the will was signed. The medical records are directly relevant to the question of whether or not she had the requisite capacity to sign the will. While the testator has a right to privacy that continues after death, the harm caused by disclosure of the records after death is….

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Contested wills, Costs, Credibility, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Healthcare, Limitation periods, Wills

Potential Cost of Witnessing a Will

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Across Canada, the provinces have built safeguards against undue influence into their law regulating wills: if the witness or the witness’ spouse receives a gift of property under the will, that gift is void. Unfortunately, this rule has the potential to disinherit innocent beneficiaries who unwittingly agree to act as witnesses to the will. This was the situation before the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Wolk v Wolk, 2021 BCSC 1881…..

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Contested wills, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Wills

Feuding Families

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Why can’t we just get along? While the focus of many disputes has to do with money ( and likely the majority that proceed to trial) , my interest is with the disputes that occur on the care side. What I have seen in my many years working with caregiving families is miscommunication or  lack of communication. The adult children’s hurt feelings of bygone years and perception seems to further….

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Elder Care, Family Conflict
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