Executor Added After Expiration of Wills Variation Limitation
January 27th | 2017
Under the provisions of section 60 WESA, an action under the wills variation provisions must be commenced within 180 days of the grant of probate or the action is statute barred. In the 1987 decision Cowan v Cowan 17 BCLR ( 2d) 114, the plaintiff… Read more
Damage Assessments on Appeal
January 26th | 2017
“An appellate court will not interfere with a trial judge’s assessment of damages unless he or she erred in principle of law, misapprehended the evidence, failed to consider relevant factors or considered irrelevant factors, or there was no evidence on which the judge could have… Read more
The Court’s Power to Conrol Itself (Vexatious Litigants)
January 21st | 2017
Semenoff Estate v Semenoff 2017 BCCA 17 involved the Appeal Court reviewing the power of the court to control it’s own conduct and that of vexatious litigants appearing in court. The case arose from an appeal of 30 issues from a summary judgement hearing and… Read more
Judicial Bias
January 20th | 2017
Allegations of judicial bias occasionally make the news when a litigant asserts that the proposed Judge is so biased that a fair trial cannot be obtained, and the Judge is asked to recuse him or herself. Bias is very different from a court finding a… Read more
Dementia disease
December 8th | 2016
An epidemic of dementia disease is predicted to occur within the next 15-20 years. The most common types of dementia disease such as Alzheimers, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and Lewy Bodies are expected to dramatically increase by %50 over the next 15 -20 years as… Read more
The Law of Mistake
December 7th | 2016
Teather v Kawashima 2016 BCSC 2231 involved litigation where the defence of mistake was argued and the Court reviewed the law. When parties are negotiating a contract it may occur that one party is thinking of one thing while the other party is thinking of… Read more
“Survive By Five Days”
December 6th | 2016
S 10 of WESA provides for when a person does not survive a deceased person by five (5) days or longer when provided for in an instrument( ie a will) is conclusively deemed to have died before the deceased persona for all purposes and thus will… Read more
Fertility and WESA
November 28th | 2016
A deceased husband’s frozen sperm at a fertility centre was declared to be personal property under WESA and previous case law and thus could be inherited by the widow on an intestacy. The court in KLW v Genesis Fertility Centre 2016 BCSC 1621 ordered to release of… Read more
Who Can Be an Expert Witness?
November 18th | 2016
The complexity litigation issues has increased the need and use of expert witnesses, and just who can be one is sometime an issue in itself. Some of the experts that I have utilized over years of estate litigation are geriatric psychiatrists, accountants and forensic auditors, and… Read more
Laches
November 15th | 2016
Laches was discussed and rejected by the court in Grewal v Khakh 2016 BCSC 2055, where the court quoted the Supreme Court of Canada: 52 In M. (K.) v. M. (H.), , [1992] 3 S.C.R. 6, [1992] S.C.J. No. 85 (S.C.C.) at para. 98, where the… Read more
Gifts In Contemplation of Death
November 14th | 2016
Deathbed gifts happen surprisingly often. It is relatively common for people, during their last days, to make sizable gifts to caregivers and loved ones. Frequently the purported gift is at odds with the will of the dying person. Like deathbed wills, deathbed gifts’ often result… Read more
Assets Passing Outside of the Estate
November 12th | 2016
Assets Passing – Probably most people in North America die holding assets that pass from their name to others or their estate that pass both ” inside” and “outside” of the estate. A deceased’s will only distributes assets that were personally owned by the deceased at… Read more
Proper Estate Expenses
November 4th | 2016
Re Vince Insurance Trust 2016 BCSC 1992 reviewed the law as to what constitutes proper estate expenses such that the executor would be entitled to be reimbursed for same. It is a question of fact in each case. The application for the interim distribution was… Read more
Interim Distribution Ordered
November 3rd | 2016
An interim distribution of $250,000 of his maximum estate entitlement of $460,000 was ordered to a 76 year old former spouse of the deceased who needed funds in Davis v Burns Estate 2016 BCSC 1982. The application was made under section 155 of the Wills,… Read more
Tracing Converted Assets
November 1st | 2016
Converted assets can be traced and reclaimed under certain circumstances if they can be identified. For example a bank account of cash can be converted into a stock portfolio which in turn is used to buy a house that is subsequently sold and put into… Read more