Correcting a Mistake in a Will – What did the Testator Intend

Elizabeth Ann McLaughlin died at the ripe old age of 98.  She was predeceased by her husband.  Together they had six children, including Daniel.  Daniel, as estate trustee, sought to rectify what he characterized as a solicitor’s mistake in his mother’s secondary will. For many years prior to her death, Mrs. McLaughlin had no relationship with her son, Thomas, or her daughter, Judith.  She had previously instructed her long time….

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Estate Planning, Home-Right, Practice Management

What if I can’t spell ‘WORLD’ backwards?

Clinicians and lawyers are regularly exposed to a score on the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) also known as the ‘Folstein test’ after the developer of the most widely used cognitive screening tool in the world. Yet it is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted tests in Medicine, not to mention estate matters. The score of the MMSE is often cited as indicative of the presence of dementia and hence….

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Elder Law, Estate Planning, Home-Right

21 x 3 = confusion

The number 21 figures prominently in estate planning and administration – at least three separate rules feature the number. Having been involved in estate and trust education for a number of years, I can attest to the fact that the three rules can be confusing on their own and may spell real trouble when applied in combination. The three rules govern: when capital/gains losses generated by trust property must be….

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Estate Planning

Mutual Wills – May Require Less than You’d Think

Reciprocal wills contain terms that mirror one another and are frequently prepared for couples. Mutual Wills are reciprocal Wills that the testators have agreed cannot be changed, at least without the consent of the other. Where there is no written agreement, the question arises: when do reciprocal Wills become mutual ones? The answer of the recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Rammage v. Estate of Roussel….

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Estate Planning, Wills

“‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all” -Alfred Lord Tennyson

My blogging colleagues have described many estate and trust issues resulting from subsequent marriages. However today’s blog acknowledges that older individuals can enjoy another meaningful, satisfying and loving relationship after the death of a significant other…..

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Elder Care, Funeral Planning

Deceased’s Will So Hateful it is Suspicious

When WW finally received a copy of her father’s will, after more than a year of chasing her father’s second wife to produce it, she read these words: I have equally considered my two children and leave them absolutely nothing. [WW] is entirely without morality and who ‘did not know’ if she could tell the truth in a Court. She is less a person than her mother. G-d help anyone….

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Contested wills, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence, Wills
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