Family Conflict

Total 254 Posts

Unclaimed Bodies and Setting Things Right

Unhappily, it is not uncommon for family members to be at loggerheads as to who controls the body of a loved one and whether the body should be cremated or buried. I previously blogged on the 2018 case Miller v. Miller, a decision by Justice Myers of the ONSC, which dealt with this issue. In summary, the estate trustee has the authority to make funeral and burial arrangements. Nevertheless, fights….

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

Locating Unknown or Missing Heirs to an Estate

How should an estate trustee proceed when they cannot identify or locate all of the heirs to an estate? In some cases, a challenge arises where a will does not identify the beneficiaries by name, but by class or some other description. For example, a will may leave the residue of the estate to the testator’s “nieces and nephews” without specifically naming them. Where a deceased died without a will,….

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Contested wills, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict

ON A PAPER NAPKIN, DID YOU SAY?

The Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan was recently asked (in the case of Gust vs. Langan et al., 2020 SKQB 42) whether a will handwritten on a paper napkin created by the deceased sometime before his death met the requirements of being a valid will under the relevant Act to permit it to be accepted as a valid holograph will.  The Court had to decide whether the will met the test….

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Contested wills, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Property, Wills

Guardian of Personal Care: Step Up or Step Out

While the courts will defer to the wishes of the incapable person regarding their attorney/guardian of personal care, they will also look at the past actions of the applicants…..

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Capacity Law, Caregiving, Disability, Elder Care, Elder Law, Family Conflict, Fiduciary Professions, Geriatric Care Management, Guardianship, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes

Frivolous Notices of Objection Can be Struck Out

Counsel faced with responding to frivolous objections to an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee may wish to consider rule 25.11 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 25.11 allows the court to strike out (all or part of) a pleading, without leave to amend, on the ground that the pleading is scandalous, frivolous or vexatious. In Dessisa and Wolde v Demisie the Applicants, Dessisa and Wolde,….

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Contested wills, Costs, Courts, Credibility, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Guardianship, Joint Tenancy, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Separation, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence, Wills

Accommodating Beneficiaries of a Will With Differing Gender Identities

The symbol for people who identify as non-binary.

Accommodating Beneficiaries With Differing Gender Identities Our society is becoming increasingly attuned to accommodating the needs of people who have various gender identities, whether such people are transgender, queer, or do not identify as one specific gender. For example, Ontario announced a few years ago that its residents can use an “X” under the “Sex” indicator on provincial government identification to signify that they identify as transgender, non-binary, and/or two-spirited,….

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Contested wills, Dependant Support, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Wills
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