After dismissing the will challenge on the basis of due execution, testamentary capacity and knowledge and approval, the court turned to the issue of undue influence. Despite the presence of suspicious circumstances, the court held that the challengers, not the propounder, had the burden of proving undue influence. However, while the son did not have the burden of disproving coercion, his evidence was to be tested against the preponderance of probabilities that rationally emerge out the all the evidence in the case.

The deceased was found to be vulnerable and dependant upon her son for all aspects of her existence. Conversely, the son was found to have an aggressive and domineering personality, both in general and with respect to his desire for absolute ownership of the family holding company.

The court found that the son was very caring of his mother. However, it did not accept his evidence on the issue of undue influence. The court asked a number of rhetorical questions as to why the mother would make the will that she did, despite the circumstances. The court concluded that that will was procured by the undue influence of the son.

The will was therefore found to be invalid.

Paul Trudelle

As to testamentary capacity, the court referred to the oft – quoted decision of Banks v. Goodfellow, and the test for testamentary capacity.

It noted that the capacity required to direct the distribution of one’s estate by Will is “modest”. To be of a sound and disposing mind and memory, a testator must:

1.                  be aware that they are making a will that takes effect on their death;

2.                  understand the nature and extent of the estate to be disposed of by Will;

3.                  be aware of those having a claim to the estate;

4.                  have no disorder of the mind.

The court reviewed the evidence of the plaintiffs and the witnesses (other than the son) as to testamentary capacity. The court was satisfied that on the preponderance of the evidence, the testator had the necessary capacity to direct the disposition of her estate by will as of the date of the will.

As to knowledge and approval, the court noted that a suspicious circumstances raised in the case required that the son, as the propounder of the will, prove that the deceased knew of and approved of the contents of the will. The court did not accept the evidence of the son to the effect that the deceased had to carefully read her will and discuss it with him on numerous occasions. Despite this, the court concluded that the deceased knew of the provisions of the will that she signed.

To this point, the will survived most of the challenges to it. Will the will be accepted to probate? Can it withstand the final challenge: undue influence? Tune in tomorrow.

Paul Trudelle

After disposing of the issue of due execution, the court turned to the doctrine of “suspicious circumstances”. The court referred to these Supreme Court of Canada decision of Vout v. Hay, where it was held that suspicious circumstances maybe raised by circumstances surrounding the preparation of the will, circumstances tending to call into question the capacity of the testator; or circumstances tending to show that the free will of the testator was overborne by acts of coercion or fraud.

Generally, the propounder of a will has the legal burden with respect to due execution, knowledge and approval, and testamentary capacity. However, upon proof that the will was duly executed, the propounder is aided by the rebuttable presumption that the testator knew and approved of the contents and had the necessary testamentary capacity.

The burden of establishing suspicious circumstances rests on those attacking the will. If evidence can be adduced which, if accepted, would tend to negative knowledge and approval or testamentary capacity, this burden is satisfied and the legal burden reverts to the propounder.

In Hix, it was the son who drafted the challenged will. The Court quoted from Vout v. Hay as follows:

“… if a party writes or prepares a Will, under which he takes a benefit, that is a circumstance that ought generally to excite suspicion of the Court, and calls upon it to be vigilant and jealous in examining the evidence in support of the instrument, in favour of which it ought not to pronounce unless the suspicion is removed, and it is judicially satisfied that the paper propounded does express the true Will of the deceased.”

The court concluded that the son should never have agreed to draw the will for the deceased. The fact that he did in the circumstances “does more than raise suspicion; it cries out for it.”

Tomorrow: testamentary capacity, and knowledge and approval

Paul Trudelle

In Hix v. Ewachniuk Estate, 2008 CarswellBC 1300 (Hinkson J.), the deceased was survived by a son and two daughters. The deceased, the son and the two daughters had varying levels of shareholdings in a holding company.

In a prior will, the deceased left her estate to her three children, equally. In a will drawn January 11, 2004, the deceased left her estate to her three children equally, on the condition that the two daughters transferred their shareholdings in the holding company to the son. The deceased died on June 1, 2006 at the age of 90. The daughters challenged the validity of the will, and the court considered the validity of the will from a number of perspectives.

The court first considered the issue of due execution of the will. The formal requirements necessary to execute a valid will are set out in the relevant legislation. While the court was not prepared to accept the evidence of the son with respect to the execution of the deceased’s will, it did accept the evidence of one of the two witnesses to the will. The court was satisfied that the will was signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses who were present at the same time and who subscribed the will in the presence of each other and the testator.

Court concluded that the will was validly executed. This aspect of the will challenge was rejected.

More tomorrow.

Paul Trudelle

We have covered legacies from several angles at Hull & Hull; there are 25 hits when "legacy" is searched on the Blogs and Podcasts section of our website.  The law dictionary defines legacy as "A gift by will, esp. of personal property and often of money;  a bequest."

Individuals can leave a legacy in their respective Wills, but as the Globe & Mail column highlights, people who have the means enjoy the satisfaction of leaving a legacy during their lifetime. Stories abound, as www.leavealegacy.ca illustrates.  There are as many reasons to leave a legacy as there are donors.

The principle of leaving a successful legacy applies to many realms, including the family business.  In some instances, it is advisable to not leave the kids the family business.  Rick Spence, of Moneysense, suggests passing on values, rather than gifting the family business.  Certainly we are not all in the position of "firing the kids", but there may be many good reasons to do now what you would otherwise do in your Will. 

Jonathan

If there were no Will, Tessa's estate could have contributed to the British government's coffers.  In that circumstance, a probate research firm could have played a role. 

Title Research is one of the firms highlighted in yesterdays blog about "heir hunters".  Its services include: searches for missing beneficiaries, heirs, and legal documents (such as marriage, birth and death certificates back to the 1800s); asset research to value, verify and find missing or unknown assets; missing beneficiary indemnity insurance; probate valuations; and will searches to determine that the Will is the deceased's last will. 

If Tessa had died intestate, Title Research, and other firms, could have located her heirs around the world.  Alternatively, if the estate trustee had questions about the value of the estate assets, or had the trustee not known the whereabouts of the beneficiaries, it could have enlisted a search firm's services as some anecdotes suggest.

Potentially trustees can protect their personal liability by engaging a firm that has a best practices endorsement of Britain's Law Society.  It seems that an estate need not just have ties to the UK, but the extent of a firm's expertise in a specific jurisdiction would have to be assessed.

Interestingly, some of the detective work can be done by amateur sleuths: www.findmypast.com and www.ancestry.co.uk allow access to census data from the 1800s and a host of other historical information.  If genealogy is in your blood, it's a place to start.  And, as one UK law firm suggests, it might be advisable to do some of your own investigating.

Jonathan Morse

Fellow walkers from Britain were interested to learn that I work in estate litigation. After sorting out differences in our terminology, they asked if “heir hunters” exist in Canada. I was intrigued.

While I still do not know the extent of “heir hunting” here, I learned that Heir Hunters is a BBC series that follows probate detectives who look for distant relatives of people who have died without making a will. I have not heard of a similar program in North America.

Several UK firms track down missing relatives: Fraser and Fraser  and Title Research are two examples. About 545,000 people die in Britain every year and half of them do not have a will. As in Ontario, there are rules in Britain which dictate that when people die intestate, their estate passes to the deceased’s legal next of kin. In Britain, if there is no family, the estate falls to the Crown.  The Guardian claims that £10 million to £20 million falls to the government every year because there is no one to claim the estate. Heir hunters locate the next of kin and alert them to their inheritance; there is a finder’s fee of up to 25% of the amount.

Many people in Canada can trace their roots to the United Kingdom. Estate practitioners, if advising estate trustees, would be well served to keep “heir hunting” firms in mind. 

Thank you for reading.  Enjoy your day.

Jonathan Morse

The most common claim involves communication between lawyer and client. Dan breaks down the type of communication errors into three categories. According to the article, the most common communication related error, is the failure to follow the client’s instructions.  The second type of communication error is the lawyer doing work or taking steps on a matter, but failing to obtain the client’s consent or to inform the client. The third type of communication error involves the failure to explain to the client simple administrative things (i.e. timing of steps on the matter, fees and disbursement). Dan states that you can reduce your exposure to this type of claim by managing your client’s expectations from the very start of the matter and actively communicating with the client at all stages of the matter. 

The second most common claim is missed deadlines and time management related errors. The most common time-related error is a failure to know or to ascertain a deadline (i.e. limitation period). There is a concern that procrastination-related errors are on an upwards trend. Dan states that these types of errors are easily preventable with better time management skills and the proper use of tickler systems.

The third most common error is the inadequate investigation or discovery of facts.   To avoid these types of claims lawyers have to “dig deeper”, take the time to read between the lines so that all of the appropriate issues and concerns associated with the subject matter can be identified. 

I hope my final blog will assist all of us in our practise. 

Rick Bickhram   

One of the traditional grounds for a will challenge is undue influence.  At its very basic form, undue influence occurs as a result of pressure brought to bear on the testator in giving instructions and executing the testamentary document.  The pressure brought on the testator, must be of such a degree that the testator has reached the point of thinking, "It is not my wish, but I must do it".

In contrast, "reverse" undue influence (as it has been called) occurs where a testator is being prevented from signing a Will.

As this interesting topic continues to evolve, I am confident that the estate & trust bar will be looking on with interest.

Rick Bickhram

 

In a recent blog of mine (“To vary a Trust or not to vary a Trust: Does a Statute have the Answer?”), I touched upon the Variation of Trusts Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. V.1) as the authority to vary a trust.In today’s blog and several more this week, I will comment on the procedure and documents typically involved with a variation of trust.

Having decided that a variation is necessary, the trust document should be carefully reviewed to ensure that all terms of the trust are properly understood, and to identify all of the persons having an interest or potential interest (actual and potential beneficiaries) in the trust, to consider those that need to sign the proposed arrangement (which sets out the variation proposed), to consider who will require representation before the Court and those that will be affected by the variation.

The procedure for such a variation consists of the preparation of and signature of a Deed of Arrangement (or agreement setting out the variation that the Court is requested to approve), and an Application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (to be heard before a single Judge) seeking a Judgment approving the Deed of Arrangement on behalf of the minor, unborn, unascertained, incapable or contingent beneficiary.

The Application materials, in turn, consist of a Notice of Application and affidavit material supporting the variation. A factum will also be required unless leave is sought further to Rule 38.09(4) of the Rules of Civil Procedure dispensing with the necessity of the factum. A draft Judgment should also be submitted when the materials are served and filed.

A Consent to the Application signed by all of the capacitated beneficiaries is best included as part of the Application material.   A letter/document from the Children’s Lawyer/Public Guardian and Trustee indicating their position (ie. that they do not object on behalf of their respective interest) is also typically a part of the Application materials, unless the Children’s Lawyer/Public Guardian and Trustee are attending in Court at the Application before the Judge.

In tomorrow’s blog, I will take a look at the appointment of the litigation guardian for the minor, unborn, unascertained or incapable beneficiary of the trust for the purposes of a variation of trust.

Thanks for reading. Craig

However, as reported in the New Jersey Law Blog, a recent California case has determined that when a conservator secures court approval of an estate plan while an individual is still alive, any challenge to the will must be made at that time, and not after the death of the individual.

In Murphy v. Murphy, the Court of Appeal for the State of California, First Appellate District, Docket No. A115177, the testator had suffered a stroke. A conservator was appointed for the testator, who sought court approval of the testator’s estate plan. A son, who was left out of the estate plan, was put on notice and did not challenge the estate plan.

After death, the son sought to challenge the estate plan. The Court of Appeal held that the son’s claim was barred on the basis of “collateral estoppel”. The son was not allowed to relitigate matters that were litigated in a prior proceeding.

The blog’s author observes that the decision “essentially bulletproofs the will of a person found incompetent and placed under the protection of a conservator, if the Court approves a revised estate plan with appropriate notice being given to all parties in interest who may have any basis to object.”

In Ontario, there is no similar procedure for approval of an estate plan. In fact, an attorney for property or guardian for property is expressly barred from making a will on behalf of the incapable person.  

However, at least two Ontario decisions (Stern v. Stern and Weinstein v. Weinstein (Litigation Guardian of) have commented to the effect that the court should not “close its eyes to the fact that litigation among expectant heirs is no longer deferred as a matter of course until the death of an incapable person”.

Paul Trudelle

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the lawyer provided legal services to a client and members of her family on various matters. The lawyer and the client agreed that the client, an exotic dancer at the time, would perform nude dances for him in his office as a way to cut down on legal fees. The lawyer also received free nude dances at the club where she worked. 

The lawyer credited the client with $534 as against his accounts. 

The client later complained of sexual assault. A grand jury declined to indict the lawyer, but the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, a branch of the state Supreme Court, conducted an investigation leading to the suspension.

Thanks for reading.

Paul Trudelle

That was the question that was posed to the Honourable Justice D. M. Brown in the matter of The Estate of Gerald Francis Clarke, 2008 CanLII 45541 (Ont. S.C.) released September 12, 2008.

There, the Applicants applied for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustees for the estate of the late Gerald Francis Clarke.  The Application appears to have been unopposed.

The affidavit of execution indicated that the testator was a paraplegic and unable to take a pen in his hand to sign or initial the pages of his will.  The witness deposed that he saw the testator execute his will by placing a stamp which reads “Gerald F. Clarke” on the signature line at the end of the will and on each page of the will.  The witness further deposed that the testator executed the will in the presence of himself and another witness, as attesting witnesses.

Section 4(1)(a) of the SLRA provides that a will is not valid unless “at its end it is signed by the testator or by some other person in his or her presence and by his or her direction”. 

The Court relied upon In Re Bradshaw Estate, [1988] N.B.J. No. 709 (P.C.). There, in interpreting a similar provision in the New Brunswick Wills Act, the Court formulated the applicable test as follows:

(i) were the markings on the will made by the testator, and

(ii) were they intended as his signature and to represent the best that the testator could do by way of writing his name under his physical circumstances? 

Brown J. held that this test should be applied in determining whether a testator had complied with s. 4(1)(a) of the SLRA.

Brown J. concluded that on the evidence before him, the testator stamped the will with a stamp bearing his name and that his stamping of the will in that manner represented the best that he could do by way of writing his name given his physical circumstances. 

A Certificate of Appointment issued with respect to the stamped will.

Paul Trudelle

A will challenge can be commenced pursuant to 75.06(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 75.06(1) is a procedural remedy that permits any person who appears to have a financial interest in an estate to apply for directions or move for directions in another proceeding.   This begs the question, who is considered to have a financial interest in an estate? This issue was addressed in the Ontario Superior Court (Divisional Court) decision of Smith v. Vance.

In Smith, the Deceased died on October 27, 1995, leaving a will dated January 5, 1994 which named the applicants as the estate trustees.   A notice of objection was filed by three individuals who were cousins of the deceased through marriage. The objection was subsequently struck by the Honourable Justice Perras during the motion for directions on the grounds that the objectors did not have a financial interest in the subject-Estate. In this hearing, the objectors appealed this decision.

The objectors asserted their financial interest in the Estate based on their close relationship with and their physical and financial assistance for the deceased. There was also an earlier destroyed will in which the objectors were named beneficiaries. Finally a letter was allegedly written by the deceased wherein she acknowledged that the objector will have an interest in her estate.

The court acknowledged that a financial interest is not defined in the Rules of Civil Procedure. In such cases, words should be taken by its natural meaning. Black's legal dictionary defines financial interest as an interest equated with money or its equivalent. The court held that claimants must do more than simply assert an interest. They must present sufficient evidence of a genuine interest and meet a threshold test to justify inclusion as a party. The interest need not be conclusive evidence at that stage but must be evidence capable of supporting an inference that the claim is one that should be heard. 

If the evidence offered by an objector is capable of supporting an inference that the claim raises a genuine issue, and thus is one that should be heard, the objector is entitled to standing and should be granted permission to be added as a party. The appeal was allowed and the order by the Honourable Justice Perras was set aside.

I hope you had fun reading today's blog. Until tomorrow,

Rick Bickhram

The issue of a failed gift is a common subject in the context of will interpretations. The Ontario Legislature has considered failed gifts in sections 23 and 31 of the Succession Law Reform Act.

In essence, Section 23 states that unless a contrary intention appears in the subject-will, when a devisee or legatee predeceases the testator, the failed gift falls into the residue of the testator’s estate. 

Section 31 is commonly referred to as the "anti-lapse provision."  Section 31 prevents devises or bequests from failing by virtue of the devisee or legatee predeceasing the testator. In such a scenario, a gift is saved if the devise or bequest was left for a child, grand-child, brother or sister of the testator and the pre-deceased devisee or legatee died leaving a spouse or issue who survived the testator. If these conditions have been met, the devise or bequest will not fall into the residue, however it will take effect as if it had been made directly to the spouse or issue of predeceased devisee or legatee. 

Thank you for reading,

Rick Bickhram

The one thing that immediately came to mind was the comment of Rodney Dangerfield’s character Al Czervic from the movie “Caddyshack” that “Golf courses and cemeteries are the biggest waste of prime real estate in America.”

Looking a little deeper on the internet, I found a wealth of golf-related murder mysteries!  Yahoo hosts a group for golf mystery collectors. The Waterboro Public Library has compiled a list of well over 100 golf murder mysteries (I stopped counting at 100). 

Titles include “Death is a Two-Stroke Penalty”, “Deadly Divots”, “Death Under Par”, “Rotten Lies”, “Fairway to Heaven”, “Putt to Death”, “Par for the Corpse” and “Six Strokes Under”. There appears to be no limit to the punning.

Whether you’re reading, or golfing, or both, have a great summer!

Thank you for reading.

Paul Trudelle

In Jean Estate v. Wires Jolley LLP 2008 CanLII 14538, an estate trustee and sole beneficiary of an estate entered into a retainer agreement with counsel that provided for a “success fee” of 10% of the value of the estate. The retainer agreement also provided that any dispute relating to the success fee was to be determined by an arbitrator. 

A dispute arose, and the solicitors sought to have the dispute resolved through arbitration. The client applied to the court to have the notice of arbitration struck out, and to have the dispute resolved by the court.

Madam Justice Low granted the application. She held that the provisions of the Solicitors Act applied prima facie. She went on to conclude that even though the parties had previously agreed to an arbitration provision, and could agree to keep private commercial disputes private, the relationship between lawyers and clients is “one which transcends a mere commercial transaction. The profession has a monopoly over the provision of legal services and the occasions upon which lawyers interact with members of the public occur often when the latter are in the most vulnerable of circumstances. There is therefore an overarching public interest to be served in the court’s supervision of the profession’s monopoly.”

As the arbitration provision was a derogation of the client’s statutory right to have the court scrutinize the propriety of the fees, it was not upheld.

Thank you for reading.

Paul Trudelle

“Resomation” is described as “an environmentally responsible, flameless, water based ‘biocremation™’ which sympathetically returns the body to its constituent elements.” In the process, which involves alkaline hydrolysis, the body is placed into a special vessel containing a pool of water and potassium hydroxide, which is heated to a high temperature under pressure. This dissolves the body into its chemical components, leaving only calcium phosphate bone ash. In addition, any mercury fillings and prosthetics remain intact, and can be safely removed.

The web site “Ecogeek” described the process as “The Greenest Way to Die”, and notes that the process does not release harmful mercury vapours, and only uses 90 kWh of energy, compared to 250 kWh for a normal cremation.

The company behind resomation describes the process as “accelerating natural decomposition”. 

It does not appear that the process is available in Canada yet. 

Thank you for reading.

Paul Trudelle

A decision out of the Saskatchewan Court of Queens Bench appears to open the window to this type of claim even wider. Disappointed beneficiaries may also have a cause of action as against financial institutions and others that provide estate planning advice.

In Mayer v. Nordstrom, 2003 SKQB 397 (CanLII), the deceased consulted with a financial adviser with respect to his estate plan. The deceased owned a mutual fund plan, and designated his son as the beneficiary. However, the plan was not registered, and the designation was therefore void.  The fund fell into the deceased’s estate, and the son received only half of the value of the fund as a beneficiary of the estate. The disappointed son sued the financial planner for negligence. 

The financial planner resisted the claim, taking the position that he did not owe a duty of care to the son.

The Court disagreed. The Court held that the “disappointed beneficiary” principles articulated in solicitors’ negligence cases such as Earl v. Wilhelm (2000), 183 D.L.R. (4^th) 45 (Sask. C.A.) and White v. Jones, [1995] 1 All E.R. 691 (H.L.) applied equally to other professions. The “disappointed beneficiary” principle “is not a function merely of the defendant’s occupation”. The planner was a professional who held himself out as possessing special skill, judgment and knowledge in financial planning, which included estate planning tools. The planner ought to have known that carelessness on his part would cause harm to a third party.

The duty of care to potential beneficiaries, opened in the White v. Jones decision, continues to expand.

Thank you for reading.

Paul Trudelle