Solicitor Client Privilege and the Will File
October 22nd | 2015
Solicitor client privilege and the will file can often end up in a tug of war between the executor upholding a claim of privilege after the death of the estate deceased, and beneficiaries who want to see the lawyers notes and other file contents of… Read more
Pet Trusts
September 6th | 2015
Pet Trusts Today’s news mentioned that a deceased left $100,000 to care for her 12 parrots. At first blush this may seem unreasonable, but given that her wealth was in excess of 5 1/2 million dollars, and the long life expectancy of parrots, this may… Read more
Admissibility of Out of Court Statements
July 16th | 2015
Documents such as diaries, notes, letters and various statements made by witnesses out-of-court, are normally not admissible by reason of hearsay, but may be admissible if adduced for a purpose other than proof of its contents, when it then becomes circumstantial evidence and is admissible… Read more
Executor Court Actions Before Probate
June 29th | 2015
Executor Court Actions Before Probate The law seems to be clear that an executor can bring an action in his or her capacity as executor before probate is granted but cannot obtain judgment in the action without probate having been granted: see Chetdy v. Chetdy,… Read more
Proof of Will In Solemn Form vs. Common Form
June 26th | 2015
When the validity of a will is in question, the propoundor of the will is often forced to prove the validity of the will in solemn form, by commencing a court action and having a judge determine the wills validity, as opposed to a non… Read more
Registrar Says It Is Role of Courts to Interpret Documents
June 11th | 2015
A Registrar declined to interpret documents on a Passing of Accounts hearing in Lam v Daphne’s Fund ( Trustee of) 2015 BCSC 623, in effect stating that it was the role of the Courts to construe underlying trust documents and not the Registrar. Since the… Read more
Who Owns Found Money?
June 9th | 2015
Who Owns Found Money? The basic and ancient principle of law that governs such situations where the finder of a chattel/Money acquires good title to it against all but the true owner or one enjoying a superior title -Armory v Delamirie (1722) 1 Str.505 (… Read more
Funeral Costs Must Be Reasonable
June 8th | 2015
Chernichan v. Chernichan Estate 2001 CarswellAlta 1730, 2001 ABQB 913, basically held that while funeral expenses are a top priority of the estate debts, the funeral costs themselves must be reasonable in relationship to the financial situation of the deceased, particularly where there is an… Read more
“Floodgates of Litigation” Held Specious
June 4th | 2015
I discovered a 1992 court decision debunking the theory of “floodgates of litigation “– a long time insurance industry alarm akin to the sky will fall, unless restrictions are put on various types of claims, usually through legislation or sometimes the courts, to limit the amount… Read more
Forcing Sale of a Jointly Owned Property
May 24th | 2015
Co-owners of real property often find themselves in situations where one or more owners wish to or have to force a sale of jointly owned property, which is resisted by other co-owners. The courts generally speaking will grant an order forcing a sale of a… Read more
Court of Appeal Allows Courts to Interpret Trust Documents
March 19th | 2015
Court of Appeal Allows Courts to Interpret Trust Documents The almost chestnut re Engleman Estate 1986 23 ETR 30, BCCA, The will of the deceased made his two brothers co-executors and sole beneficiaries. A major asset of the estate was a farm on which… Read more
Probate Procedure When Four Wills In Dispute
March 12th | 2015
Re Dow Estate 2015 BCSC 292 an issue of probate procedure arose due to the fact that the deceased made four wills in the last 2 1/2 years of his life. The plaintiff was named as a beneficiary in the first and third wills, but not… Read more
UBC Property Transfer Set Aside For Being a “Fraud On a Power”
February 4th | 2015
Fraud On a Power It is a fraud on a power contained in a will to use a society created in accordance with the terms of the will to achieve indirectly the transfer of property to a non-object of that power which could not be done… Read more
Appeal Court Disapproves Using Assessments To Value Property
February 3rd | 2015
Assessments To Value Property Dosanjh v Liang 2015 BCCA 18 disapproved of the use of using assessments to value property and prove damages in it’s valuation, and that the better practice is to use appraisers, especially for historical valuations. Here are excerpts paragraphs 57-70 that discus… Read more
Inheritance In Trust Taken By Trustee In Bankruptcy
January 15th | 2015
A bankruptcy can over ride an inheritance, even when the inheritance is left in trust as per Bolt Estate 2014 BCSC 2095 A trust in a will provided that the un discharged bankrupt heir, was to receive 1/4 of the capital at 26, the… Read more