Legal Papers
Orders for Directions and Pleadings
Will and Power of Attorney (“POA”) challenges are becoming more common. Whether it is the result of the much-vaunted and long-heralded wealth transfer between generations, the aging of society, or an American inspired litigious approach to sorting out life’s inevitable disputes, these court challenges will likely only increase in quantity and complexity. Laying the groundwork…read more
What to do on the Death of a Business Owner
An executor faces unique challenges in administering an estate where the deceased owned a business before death. The executor should keep the following steps should be kept in mind: • Find the will • Determine the estate assets and liabilities. Understand where the estate ends and the business begins • Determine the scope of the…read more
2012 Recent Guardianship Cases – A Critical Analysis
Guardianship or power of attorney disputes are never pleasant. Unfortunately, such disputes usually involve family members and often drag up long standing, unresolved issues between family members. Litigants can quickly lose perspective, disregard the best interests of the incapable person, and engage in scorched earth litigation. As the population ages and lives longer, such family…read more
Production of Estate Documents in Contested Beneficiary Litigation
When an estate is involved in litigation against its beneficiaries, the production of estate documents is often a highly emotional subject, not to mention legally complex. The complexity is due to the convergence of multiple forms of disclosure obligations and privileges, some of which are unique to estates litigation. These include: – A trustee’s obligation…read more
Duty and Standard of Care of Solicitors Practicing in Estates
A solicitor owes a duty of care to his or her client. This duty arises in contract (under the terms of the retainer agreement) and as a professional duty imposed on all lawyers to act with skill and competence when serving their client. The appropriate standard of varies with the circumstances and type of legal…read more
Passing the Trustee’s Accounts When There Are Business Assets
At the beneficiaries’ insistence, or at his own initiation, a trustee may apply to court to pass his accounts. Once in court passing format, the accounts will list the deceased’s assets as of date of death, and trace any subsequent disposition of those assets. However, where the estate assets include one or more businesses, the…read more
Update on Solicitors’ Negligence Issues
There are unique challenges faced by estates and trust practitioners when taking estate planning instructions. Estate planning is something that most folks are reticent to do in the first place – for many, it languishes on a list of “should do’s” for some time before something – a pending divorce, a scheduled plane trip, a…read more
A Practical Guide to Capacity Assessments
When the central issue in litigation is whether a person is capable or not, a capacity assessment can be an invaluable tool to assist the Court in making that determination. However, such an order is (and should be) difficult to obtain. To adopt the words of Justice Pattillo in Flynn et al v. Flynn ,…read more
Unusual Will Clauses & Oddball Estate Cases
As the estates bar knows all too well, a last will and testament can be the final chance for a person to communicate his or her thoughts, wishes and desires to the world. It is no surprise then that a will often reflects the idiosyncrasies of its author, whether in form or in content. Some…read more
Order for Directions and Pleadings: Laying the Groundwork for Successful Will and POA Challenges
Will and Power of Attorney (“POA”) challenges are becoming more common. Whether it is the result of the much-vaunted and long-heralded wealth transfer between generations, the aging of society, or an American inspired litigious approach to sorting out life’s inevitable disputes, these court challenges will likely only increase in quantity and complexity. Laying the groundwork…read more