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Moral Obligation vs Testamentary Freedom: Which Should Prevail?

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*This blog post was written by Ruth Paul, articling student at de VRIES LITIGATION LLP* Testamentary freedom is a guiding principle in Canadian estates law. It operates under the presumption that individuals are free to dispose of their estate however they see fit. However, testamentary freedom is not an absolute right. It is subject to statutory limitations that vary between provinces. In Ontario, these limitations are imposed by the Succession….

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Lam v Law Estate: Gender bias permits variation of discriminatory will

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Today’s blog post was written by Latoya Brown, an Associate at Fasken LLP. The discussion of discriminatory wills continues with a new case out of the British Columbia Supreme Court. In Lam v Law Estate, 2024 BCSC 156, the court varied a testatrix’s will on the reasoning that the testatrix’s bias did not meet contemporary standards of fairness. The testatrix was survived by her two independent adult children, her son….

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Capacity Law, Caregiving, Compensation, Contested wills, Courts, Dependant Support, Elder Law, Estate Administration, Estate Administration and Probate Applications, Estate Litigation, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Succession Planning, Uncategorized, Wills

A Tale of Two Limitation Periods

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In Ingram v. Kulynych Estate, 2024 ONCA 678, the Court of Appeal for Ontario considered the appropriate limitation period where two different limitation periods were applicable and apparently in conflict in relation to a claim against an estate. Background Henry Kulynych died in February 2017. In his Will, Mr. Kulynych left his estate to his first wife, and if she predeceased him, which she did, then to his three children…..

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Jointing family assets to avoid probate: Is it still that simple?

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Douglas Buchmayer, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP As many of you will be aware, probate is the process by which the Will of a deceased person is submitted to the Court for verification. A tax under the Estate Administration Tax Act of Ontario (formerly known as “probate fees”) of 1.5% is levied on the value of all assets of the deceased dealt with by that Will. Notionally not included in the….

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Estate Planning, Uncategorized

If I were administering Taylor Swift’s Estate

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If I were administering Taylor Swift’s estate, I would have to continuously monitor her trademarked lyrics “This sick beat”, “Party like it’s 1989” and “Cause we never go out of style”, amongst others.  Generally, artistic works involve copyright to protect it from being used and sold by others.  But, as song titles and lyrics are not protected by copyright, Taylor Swift turned to trademark law to protect these valuable assets…..

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Estate Administration, Executors, Uncategorized

Case Comment: Huang v. Nie, 2024 ONSC 2398

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As many of our readers may know, estate trustees have a duty to account to the beneficiaries of an estate for the property they administer. Beneficiaries are entitled to be kept informed and can reasonably expect transparency and communication from the estate trustee in this regard. Oftentimes, an estate trustee will deliver accounts to beneficiaries to demonstrate what funds have come into the estate, and what funds have been paid….

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Estate Administration, Estate Litigation, Executors, Family Conflict, Passing Of Trustees’ and Executors’ Accounts, Trustee, Uncategorized
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