Legacies Left in Wills
S. 86 Trustee Act Directions After a Murder
Re Unger 2022 BCSC 189 involved an application by the executors of the estate for advice and direction as authorized by Section 86 of the Trustee act regarding the disposition
Racism and Discrimination In Estates
In the spirit of testamentary autonomy, will makers often attempt to impose a condition to a gift and attempt to control the destiny of property or to dictate the conduct
Children Born After Death of the Testator
I recalled learning “en ventre sa mere” in law school and recently had occasion to advise as to whether a great grandchild born after the death of the grandfather testator,
What Makes It a Will?
Quinn Estate v Rydland 2019 BCCA 91 visited the old Chestnut Bennett v Toronto General Trusts to set out the bottom line of what makes a document a will. Section
Wills Drafting: The Myth of the “Simple Will”
It must be stressed that any document that has consequences as permanent and far-reaching as a Will can never be “simple.” Even a straightforward Will can be fraught with drafting
Wills Variation Explained
JR v JDM 2016 BCSC 2265 explained the criteria in assessing a wills variation claim. [81] The key provision of the WVA is s. 2 ( now Section 60 WESA)
Wills Drafting 101
The cardinal rule of wills drafting is that there is no such thing as a “simple will.” There is a tendency amongst some wills practitioners to underestimate the difficulty of
No Ademption of Gift in Will
Re Wood Estate 2004 BCCA 556 at para. 1 describes the doctrine of ademption as “ a rule of the law of wills, whereby a specific bequests “adeems” or fails,
How to Defeat a Testamentary Gift: Beneficiary Fraud
“Fraudulent beneficiaries” has arisen in a claim that I am aware of currently before the courts, where it is alleged that the deceased was fooled to leave his entire estate
Notaries May Not Draw Wills with Trusts or Life Interests
The BC Court of Appeal upheld a Supreme Court decision that notaries are not allowed to prepare wills in British Columbia that create life estates or trusts under the Notaries