Court’s Discretion to Correct Wills Enhanced Under New Act
British Columbia’s Wills Act contains many technical requirements for executing a will. While these rules are designed to protect against fraud, they can also create ... Continued
Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies Unjust Enrichment Principles
The Supreme Court of Canada has recently released an important decision which caps a recent trend to expand the meaning of “juristic reason” in the ... Continued
Capacity to Instruct Counsel
There are a number of areas of practice where questions of capacity to instruct counsel arise and often perplex lawyers. The issue is obviously one ... Continued
A Gift that Lasts
When does a gift take effect? Is it enough to tell a friend or relative that you give them your car or your shares in ... Continued
Avoiding Wills Variation Claims: How Far is Too Far?
Under the Wills Variation Act (WVA), a spouse or child of a deceased person who has left a will can petition the court to vary ... Continued
Spousal Transfer can Lead to Tax Pitfall
The recent BC Court of Appeal decision in Zeitler v. Zeitler Estate, 2010 BCCA 216 illustrates why tax consequences must be thought through carefully even ... Continued
Elder Law
Elder law is an umbrella term for practice areas which collectively provide legal services to enhance the lives of people as they age. The current ... Continued
The Role of Executors and Trustees
Estate litigation issues in the context of an executor or trustee include court applications addressing the actions of the executor or trustee, as well as ... Continued
Compensation for Executors and Trustees in British Columbia
In British Columbia, executors of an estate are entitled to a maximum compensation of 5% of the gross aggregate value of the estate under the ... Continued
Wills Variation
A general principle of law is that a person making a Will (a “Testator”) has the “testamentary freedom” to dispose of his or her property ... Continued
Unjust Enrichment and Estate Claims
Typically, when a spouse or child has not been adequately provided for under a testator’s will, the remedy has been to make a claim under ... Continued
Support Binding on the Estate?
One of the more difficult situations that may arise in the administration of an estate is a claim by a former spouse of the deceased ... Continued