What Is a Formal Application to Pass Accounts?

by: , September 28, 2020

Estate trustees, attorneys for property, guardians of property and trustees of a trust (collectively referred to here as “fiduciaries”) are all obligated to keep detailed records, or accounts, of their management of assets. Fiduciaries can be compelled to pass accounts by those with an interest in the trust property or by those with a close…read more

Passing of Accounts: A Math Problem Explained

by: , August 14, 2014

In a recent blog post entitled “Things Lawyers Know,” I laughed out loud when I read #13:  “Lawyers are word, not number people.  If their fee went up 10%, few lawyers would know how much extra they received.” Math often comes into play in an estates litigation practice, particularly in the context of a contested passing of…read more

In the Absence of Accounting Records, What are the Options?

by: , May 1, 2014

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

Court Need Not Always Order a Fiduciary to Account

by: , September 4, 2013

In an earlier blog by fellow blogger Jasmine Sweatman, she commented on the emerging principle of proportionality in our judicial system and how it might impact on a fiduciary’s duty to pass accounts.  She queried: Where does proportionality “fit” with the right of a beneficiary of an estate or trust  to review and make inquiries of the…read more