Foreign Will Mistakenly Revoked Canadian Will of Deceased Creating Intestacy
November 6th | 2011
The August 2011 decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Robinson’s Estate v Robinson is a good example of the pitfalls that may inadvertently occur when a testator has wills prepared in different jurisdictions. It is becoming increasingly common for the general public to… Read more
$20 Million Lottery Jackpot Claim Dismissed Under Trust Law
November 5th | 2011
$20 Million Lottery Jackpot Dismissed due to trust law. It is not uncommon to hear about litigation claiming entitlement to share in lottery jackpots arising out of former friends or co- employees. Invariably the claim is that for quite a long period of time, often… Read more
The Importance of Credibility
November 4th | 2011
The Importance of Credibility Credibility is simply that quality in a witness which renders his or her evidence worthy of belief. One of the most important jobs that I judge has is which witness’s testimony is to believed, and which testimony is to be discounted…. Read more
Lost Wills and the Presumption of Revocation
November 3rd | 2011
Lost Wills and the Presumption of Revocation An update to this article is that since the introduction of WESA on April 1, 2014, I anticipate that the courts will be more willing to allow copies of wills as proof of the testator’s intention to more… Read more
Adopted Daughter Awarded Equal Share In Wills Variation Claim
November 1st | 2011
Adopted Daughter Awarded Equal Share Laing v Jarvis Estate 2011 BCSC 1082 is yet another Wills Variation claim in British Columbia, where the courts have awarded an equal share to a disinherited child, in this case, an adopted one. The plaintiff was 55 years of… Read more
Wills Variation Claims Are Generally Well Suited For Summary Trial Disposition
November 1st | 2011
Summary Trial Disposition Wills Variation claims in British Columbia are generally speaking well-suited for a summary trial disposition. A summary trial is heard by a judge who reads at affidavit materials and listens to submission by counsel. This is supposed to the more traditional route… Read more
Administration of an Estate Pending Litigation
October 31st | 2011
Estate Pending Litigation It is very common in contested estates that the assets of the deceased are not properly dealt with in a timely manner as a result of the dispute. This is particularly the case when the court action relates to the actual validity… Read more
BC Power of Attorney Act Sets Out the Duties and Powers of an Attorney For First Time
October 31st | 2011
The provisions of the BC Power of Attorney act effective September 1, 2011, are a big improvement over the previous legislation, particularly in that the duties and powers of the attorney are clearly set out in sections 19 and 20 of the act. S. 19-… Read more
New Power of Attorney Act for British Columbia Sets Out Test For Capacity and Duties of the Attorney
October 30th | 2011
New Power of Attorney Act for BC Much of the financial abuse seen by disinherited.com over the years relates to the abuse of a power of attorney by the very person entrusted to be the attorney. After many years in the making, a new Power… Read more
Gold Digger “Wife” Gets $150,000 from $3.5 MillionVulernable Victim
October 30th | 2011
One of the most outrageous recent cases of blatant gold digging is Wu v Zhang 2011 BCSC 1205. This a much younger gold digger, who married a much older, physically and mentally vulnerable man, shortly before his death.
Compensation For Executors and Trustees in British Columbia
October 30th | 2011
Compensation For Executors and Trustees in BC Many issues in estate litigation arise that pertain to the appropriate amount of compensation for executors and trustees. The first place to start for the answer is the Trustee Act of British Columbia. If the will or trust… Read more
BC Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Estranged Son’s Wills Variation Claim
October 23rd | 2011
The BC Appeals Court in Hall v Hall 2011 BCCA 354 upheld the dismissal of an adult sons Wills Variation action where the trial judge had found the plaintiff had rejected his mother and the rest of his family many years before.
Court Declines to Expand Definition of Child
October 18th | 2011
Child Under Wills Variation Act Defined and Not Expanded The recent British Columbia Court of Appeal decision in Peri vs. McCutcheon 2011 BCCA 401 clarifies that the Wills Variation act of British Columbia only provides for claims brought by biological or adopted children. The action… Read more
Court of Appeal Rules in Wills Variation Dispute Between Common Law Spouse and Disabled Adult Son
October 17th | 2011
Hall v Korejwo 2011 BCCA 355 is a Court of Appeal decision involving a wills variation dispute between a 60-year-old adult son of the deceased, and the 65-year-old surviving common-law spouse. The deceased was estranged from both of his children for most of his life.
Video Evidence Allowed
October 9th | 2011
Video evidence was allowed on appeal in Houston v Kline , 2011 BCCA 258 The respondent sued for damages arising out of a car accident.