Son Wins Wills Variation For Marrying Spouse

Lowres v Lowres 17 ETR 281, is another wills variation case from 1984 that is still very much the current and applicable law in British Columbia today.

It relates  to an adult child independent  child contesting a will in BC for reasons believed by the court  to be racially.

The deceased had four children and in her will gave half of her estate to her daughter, and one quarter to each of her two sons.

She gave nothing to the claimant, a third son who decided to fight the will.

The son applied to the court and was awarded the same interests as his two brothers, that is, a one third of one half of the estate.

The provision for the daughter would not be affected by the order.

The plaintiff son was 50 years of age and had lived at home with his parents for 10 years, paying room and board and helping generally about the house.

Things all changed when he married a wife who the deceased did not approve of, it would appear on the basis of her racial prejudice, and her disapproval of working mothers which her daughter-in-law was.

The son became estranged from his mother by reason of her unfriendly attitude towards her daughter-in-law

The court found that the deceased was a strong-minded woman who had fixed ideas on certain subjects. She was not close to her children when they were grown independent, and the court found it was probable that she resented their marrying, being of a possessive nature.

The court declared that the deceased mother departed from her duty as a judicious parent.

Her omission to include her son in her estate was irrational, with  no good reason for doing so being apparent in the evidence.

The court concluded that it believed her action stemmed from her prejudice against his marriage which would not be tolerated under modern Canadian values.