Wills

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The Importance of Independent Witnesses in a Will Challenge

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Di Nunzio vs Di Nunzio reminds us of the standard of evidence required in a will challenge. The testator made a new will in 2017 (the “2017 Will’).  The 2017 Will was made while the testator was in palliative care and she retained a new lawyer to assist her to make the will. In the 2017 Will, she appoints her daughter Teresa (her primary caregiver) as her estate trustee and….

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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

Software Applications as Aids to the Estates Advisor

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Software Applications as Aids to the Estates Advisor For all of us advisors, there are likely certain types of software applications that we use for our day-to-day tasks: perhaps its Microsoft Outlook for sending emails, or a timekeeping software for recording dockets. And although these programs are leaps and bounds beyond what our advisor ancestors could have imagined for themselves a hundred years ago, as we head deeper into the….

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Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Fiduciary Professions, Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts, Trustee, Wills

Stripping Assets Out of Corporations; Will Drafting Considerations

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Imagine you have an interest in a privately held corporation, which corporation’s underlying assets include a valuable art collection. Perhaps on your death you would like the art collection, or certain pieces, to be given to your closest friend, with the remaining assets (represented by the shares in the corporation) being given to your family. From an estate planning perspective, you have to consider whether the art collection can be….

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Estate Planning, Wills

Just a “Simple will” Please

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This Blog was written by Emily Racine, Estate and Trust Consultant with Scotia Wealth Management  As estate planners, we often hear from our clients that they just want a “simple” will. They tell us that they have a “simple” estate and so don’t need any complicated estate planning. Personally, every time I hear this, I begin to tense up. Take it from an estate planner – a simple will does….

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Estate Planning, 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
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