Credibility in Gift vs Resulting Trust Actions

One of the most common types of estate litigation is the conflicting stories of one party testifying that the asset was gifted to him or her, while others in the family argue resulting trust, and the Judge must decide who to believe.

Examples of such findings and determination of the case are found in the following examples:

It is clear that many cases where a transferee seeks to persuade a court that a gratuitous transfer was intended to be a gift turn on questions of credibility;

. Madsen Estate v. Saylor, 2007 SCC 18at para. 18,

Aujla v. Kaila, 2010 BCSC 1739at paras. 42, 62, 104, aff’d 2013 BCCA 158;

Modonese v. Delac Estate, 2011 BCSC 82at para. 69, aff’d 2011 BCCA 501;

Bakken Estate v. Bakken, 2014 BCSC 1540at paras. 33-35.