Last month, reasons for judgement were released in the case Barrett v. Derksen Estate. The Claimant was in a marriage-like relationship with the Respondent for 17 years, and they lived in a house owned by the Respondent and his business partner. The Claimant moved out of the house in 2009, at the end of the […]
Reasons for judgement were released earlier this month in the case Hegel Estate v. Logan. In the family, the father passed many years ago and the wife survived. The couple had 8 children (all adults). The family home was the main asset of the Estate. Title was registered in the mother’s name. In 2011, suffering from […]
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston are undertaking a massive research effort to determine if a new experimental drug can protect the brains of seniors who are currently healthy but may have some signs of risk. Mr. Peter Bristol, of Rhode Island, was the first person to qualify for the research. His mother died […]
Last week, reasons for judgement were released in the case Browne v. Brown Estate. In this case, the deceased died in 2010. Under the Will, the named Executrix (known under the new legislation as the Personal Representative) is a daughter, and the alternate named Executor is the deceased’s son. The son applied to have the daughter removed as Executrix and […]
The new Wills, Estates and Succession Act is now law in B.C. An extensive piece of legislation, it is changing a lot of very old law and prompting the repeal of several Acts. The Wills Variation Act is among the legislation being repealed, and the new legislation incorporates its provisions (in Part 4, Division 6). The concepts are, for […]
Reasons for judgement were released recently in the case Li v. Ellison. The judgement took only a little over two pages to complete! The story goes like this. The deceased was born in 1938 and died in early 2012, at age 75. From his marriage, which ended in the early-1980s, he had two children. He made a Will […]
Reasons for judgement were released the week of March 10 in another case on Wills interpretation. In Baliko Estate v. Baliko, the Will maker (in a 2001 Will) left his Estate to a hospital. However, the description of the organization – a Foundation that was actually legally able to receive the bequest – was missing. The question for the […]
Last week I wrote about a recent case involving the interpretation of a Will, only to have reasons be released in another case involving Will interpretation. It does seem to indicate that this is a litigious area of the law, such that it’s useful to be clear and careful in drafting a Will (though the work doesn’t […]
Being an Executor in an Estate is hard work. He/she might have to organize the funeral. They may then be involved in cleaning (or fumigating) the residence of the deceased. Then there is the financial aspect, which is often a balancing act between the requirements of the Canada Revenue Agency and the patience of the beneficiaries. On […]
Last week, reasons for judgement were released in a preliminary application in the case Morelli v. Morelli. There are five brothers in the family, three of whom launched action against the Estate of their deceased mother (who died in 2010). Another brother launched an action under the Wills Variation Act, because he was disinherited. In this […]