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Posts Categorized: Estate Litigation
179 ResultsWhen is an expert witness not an expert witness?
In Westerhof v. Gee Estate, 2015 ONCA 206, the Court of Appeal for Ontario heard appeals from Westerhof v. Gee Estate and McCallum v. Baker, two car crash cases which explored the nature of expert witnesses. The Court of Appeal concluded that witnesses with special expertise who give opinion evidence not formed for the purposes…read more
Unregistered Transfer of Property Can Be Valid
A recent decision in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that a deed of transfer of land can still be valid even if the deed wasn’t registered until after the transferor died. In the case, Sproul Estate v. Sproul, the testatrix, Ann Sproul, had purchased a house in 1989 with her husband, Leonard, together…read more
Corroborative Evidence of Deceased’s Actions
In P.M. v. Evangelista 2015 ONSC 1419 (CanLII), the court grappled with the requirement of corroboration in sexual assault claims where the defendant had died during the course of the litigation. P.M. claimed damages against the defendant Livia Evangelista, who was the administrator of the Estate of Luigi Evangelista, for sexual assaults, threatening, and harassment….read more
Ontario Has Jurisdiction Over Invalid Italian Will
Antonina’s father died during his vacation to Italy. She and her two siblings then received a purported handwritten will made just before his death which named their cousin Anna as a beneficiary. In Re Estate of Domenico Grillo, 2015 ONSC 1352, Justice Newbould found Ontario had jurisdiction over Antonina’s application to set aside this holograph…read more
Gifting Your House to Your Caregiver
It is not uncommon for an aging parent to want to give an extra benefit to the child who is looking after her. However, where this means favouring one child over another, litigation is often not far behind. Such was the case of Donis v Georgopoulous. In the well-written reasons of Justice Firestone, the court…read more
Tort of Conspiracy in Estate Litigation
Conspiracy has been something of a hot topic in civil litigation in recent years. While a wide range of activities have been used as the basis for a claim in conspiracy, it is not frequently seen in the estate litigation context. That may change, however, as the tort continues to be adapted and modified by…read more
Divisional Court Guidance on “Proper Support”
Bonnie and Danny had a 12 year common law relationship. In a modern twist on the typical fact scenario, Bonnie was the older, successful business woman and Danny was the younger man who left his job at Bonnie’s car dealership to look after things at home. At trial, Justice Greer found that they were very…read more
What Happens to the Residue of a Trust when a Gift Over Fails?
In a recent Ontario case, the Applicant, a beneficiary of a testamentary trust, sought an order declaring that the gift over of the trust was voided for uncertainty. He also sought an order that the entire trust be paid out to him immediately. The estate trustee took the position that the gift over clause was…read more
Creativity Can Kill: Striking Out Pleadings
A decision of the Ontario Superior Court, Catford v. Catford 2014 ONSC 135 demonstrates the importance of getting pleadings right. In this case, the plaintiff sued his niece for “$670,000 or such other sum as may represent one-third of the Catford family estate”. The facts pled in support of this claim was that the plaintiff’s…read more
Waiver of Solicitor-Client Privilege
It is a well-recognized principle of law that communications between a client and his lawyer are privileged and remain private and confidential even after death. Only the client can choose to waive privilege and allow the communications to become public. Waiver can be either explicit or implicit. One well known example of implicit waiver of…read more