Categories
- Capacity
- Costs
- Court Procedure
- Estate Administration
- Estate Litigation
- Capacity Litigation
- Contested Passing of Accounts
- Court Applications to Interpret a Will or Trust
- Court Applications to Remove an Executor / Estate Trustee
- Court Applications to Vary a Trust
- Dependant’s Relief Claims
- Estate Trustee During Litigation
- Guardianship Applications
- Other Claims & Remedies Against Estates
- Solicitor’s Negligence
- Spousal Elections
- Will Challenges
- Estate Mediation
- Estate Planning
- Family Cottage
- Forms of Relief
- In The News
- Joint Assets
- Legal Resources
- Limitation Period
- Mediation
- Power of Attorney
- Trusts
- Uncategorized
- Valuation of Estate Assets
Posts Categorized: Estate Administration
85 ResultsForeign Executors Must Be Careful to Follow the Rules
A recent decision of Justice D. M. Brown, Re Estate of Albert Applegath III, provides an overview of the necessary steps a foreign executor must take to have her authority recognized in Ontario. Albert Applegath III died a resident of New Mexico. His will appointed his wife, Clavis, as executor of his estate. After applying…read more
You Can’t Have It All: Hybrid Trials, Limited Discovery, and Modest Estates
Lorraine Coombs died on April 27, 2012, leaving an estate worth approximately $756,249.00. Her Last Will and Testament left her house and the residue of her estate to one of her four daughters, Susan Coombs (“Susan”). Two of her other daughters, Diane Fergueson (“Diane”) and Charlene Coombs (“Charlene”), each received $60,000 and another daughter, Donna…read more
In the Absence of Accounting Records, What are the Options?
The Ontario Court of Appeal in Pirani v Esmail was asked to determine the appropriate way to determine the quantum of damages when no accounting records are available. In a 2-1 decision, the majority held that the expert’s reconstruction of accounts was not reliable given the near absence of accounting records. However, the dissenting judge…read more
Salvador Dali, Melting Clocks, Financial Incapacity, and the Removal of an Attorney for Property!
“If the drawing of the clock was akin to Salvador Dali’s paintings, it would not bode well.” Colourful words from Justice Whitten who relied on the court’s parens patriae jurisdiction to remove an attorney for property. The drawing of an ordinary clock is often administered to determine “intellectual acuity”. Salvador Dali’s iconic image of a…read more
Objections to Trustee Accounts Must Be Specific
In reasons delivered last week in Michipicoten First Nation v. Michipicoten First Nation Community Trust, Justice Varpio emphasized that objections to trustee accounts must be specific. If objections are too vague, then the objectors run the risk of having their objections struck. An added risk of delivering vague objections is that the lack of specificity will result…read more
Limitation Period Precludes Motion to Set Aside Releases
In the usual litigation battle, a release operates as a “shield” in the sense that if a beneficiary sues an estate trustee, the estate trustee can use the release as a defence. In Re: Sheard, the estate trustees were able to use signed releases to preclude them from having to pass their accounts for the period…read more
What’s My Share?
Gail Evans died intestate on July 30, 1992. She was survived by her two sons from a first marriage, Richard and Donald, and by her second husband, Carlton. Carlton was the administrator (i.e. estate trustee) of Gail’s estate. The parties agreed Carlton was entitled to a preferential share of $75,000 and one third of the…read more
The General Who Would Be King
I recently travelled to Washington, DC. I was again reminded of the grandeur of a capital city and how well the Americans celebrate their past, Founding Fathers, and assorted heroes. American myth making can be beguiling. I had the opportunity to tour the Capital Building and George Washington’s ancestral home, Mount Vernon. It was at…read more
A Resulting Trust May Arise Before Death
In estate disputes, it is common for parties to try to claw back into the estate bank accounts that were held jointly with the testator before death. The law provides a mechanism to do this – a resulting trust. Briefly, a resulting trust works as follows: any time property is transferred to someone else for…read more
When Co-Estate Trustees Cannot Agree To Sell The House
While administering an estate, one of the most difficult challenges an estate trustee can face is the situation where a beneficiary continues to reside in a property that is an estate asset when the estate trustee wishes to list the property for sale. When there is disagreement on this issue amongst co-estate trustees, an estate…read more