Estate Administration

Total 493 Posts

Divisional Court Appeals: Not The Place For New Issues

In Luck v. Hudson, 2020 ONSC 3811 (Div. Ct.), the Divisional Court confirmed that an appeal is not the time to raise new issues and seek directions regarding an estate. In this case, the deceased and his wife owned a house together jointly which then sold (it is not clear whether the house was sold before or after the deceased’s death). At some point, litigation was commenced. While the exact….

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Contested wills, Cottage, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Wills

Someone else’s tax bill – Sometimes there is no getting away from it!

In Dreger et al v the Queen (2020 TCC25), the beneficiaries of an estate bequest appealed assessments for unpaid taxes by the deceased. In this case, the deceased was an annuitant of a life income fund (“LIF”) and prior to his death, he designated to each of his daughters as his beneficiaries under a beneficiary designation in respect of the LIF. In his will, the deceased named his daughters as….

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Canada Revenue Agency, Courts, Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Investments, Liability, Tax Issues, Trustee, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

A Presumptive Peril: The Law of Beneficiary Designations is Now in Flux

Calmusky v. Calmusky, 2020 ONSC 1506, is a 2020 decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that is ruffling some feathers among banks, financial advisors and estate planning lawyers in Ontario. In this case, the court applied the principles surrounding the presumption of resulting trust, established by the Supreme Court of Canada in Pecore v. Pecore, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 795, to two different issues related to a single estate. One….

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Credibility, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Joint Tenancy, Probate Tax, Resulting Trust, Trusts, Wills

WHAT ABOUT A CORPORATE EXECUTOR?

A lot has been written about how should choose an executor, and some of it in this blog place. A couple of years ago, fellow boggler Emily Hubling wrote eloquently about the risk and rewards of appointing a professional advisor as executor. I would like to revisit some of the points made in the context of appointing a corporate executor, some who is specifically skilled and trained for the role…..

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Attorney Compensation, Compensation, Credibility, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Planning, Executors, Fiduciary Professions, Trustee Compensation, Trusts, Uncategorized, Wills

Estate Trustee Removed for Conflict of Interest

A recent New Brunswick case provides a thoughtful analysis on the removal of estate trustees (referred to as Estate Administrators in New Brunswick). In his will, the testator had named his sister as his estate trustee.  The beneficiaries of his estate were his two children and his brother, Yves.  However, the deceased’s ex-wife, Theresa, objected to the appointment of the estate trustee and the estate trustee renounced before probate was….

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Estate Administration

LIFE INSURANCE IN THE COVID-19 ERA

As someone who has been around the life insurance industry in a professional and personal capacity for several decades, I am always curious about what motivates people to buy or not buy life insurance. I understand that few people spend time thinking about the consequences of low-probability events and are therefore disinclined to consider the need for life insurance. I would have thought the COVID-19 pandemic would increase public awareness….

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Business Succession Planning, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, In the News, Insurance, Investments, Property, Tax Issues, Uncategorized
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