Sahota v Sandhu 2012 BCSC 552 is an example of a very straight forward court application to remove and replace a court appointed estate administrator who flagrantly acted in breach of his duties.
His actions were clearly so egregious that there was little surprise or discussion in the courts removal of him as administrator.
The parties father died in 2008 intestate ( without a will).
The Court appointed the administrator who then breached his duties by transferring title to certain real properties initially to himself.
He then transferred title to his 6 siblings contrary to the terms of a court order.
The Court had little difficulty in ordering the removal of the son as administrator, transferring title to the properties into the petitioners’ names as administrator of the estate, requiring the removed son to pass his accounts , and ordering special costs against him.
Special costs typically means that the losing party must pay the winning side’s entire legal costs, and not just a portion of them, typically around 1/3 of the actual legal fees charged, as most orders for “costs” provide.
Special costs are usually reserved for situations where one parties conduct is so reprehensible that the court’s need to sanction that form of egregious behavior.
