Recent estate litigation cases in Ontario demonstrate that the legal process of estate planning and dispute settlement can be intricate. We will take a look at two recent Ontario Court of Appeal cases to further illustrate the complexity surrounding this area of law. 

 

The case Re Degeer Estate explores the concept of intestacy and the implications behind the lack of an updated Last Will and Testament. In this case, the deceased had made a prior Will some years prior to passing but had since neglected to make a new updated version prior to death. The original Will was ruled as invalid due to its age. The court held that without an updated Will, the property must be held to the laws of intestacy meaning that the deceased’s estate would be distributed among closest relatives using the rules of intestacy. This includes his son and both grandsons, the claimants in the case. 

 

The case X v Ted Finch Wigmore considers a demonstration of a conflict between adult children and a step mother regarding estate ownership. In this case, after the death of their father, the adult children brought a claim against their step mother for constructive trust alleging that the property was purchased with funds from inheritance. The case also considered advances made by their father throughout his marriage to their step mother as possible evidence to support this claim. The court clarified that both adult children and the step mother each had stake in the rights of estate ownership, with the adult children being entitled to 50 percent of the estate and step mother the other half. 

 

These cases are important demonstrators of the complexities that make up estate ownership and estate planning within Ontario regulations. These cases consider issues such as intestacy, conflicting ownership claims, and specific contributions to estate ownership through marriage and advances made. These cases can also provide insight into clients’ lives and remind practitioners of the importance of updated client documentation as well as creating estate plans that anticipate and minimizing potential conflicts.

 

Canada has a long history of estate litigation cases, many of which have shaped the current legal framework. In Ontario, some of the earliest and most important estate litigation cases concern issues such as testamentary capacity, undue influence, unlawful restraint of trade and disposition of property. In this article, we will take a quick look at some of these historic Ontario estate litigation cases and their impact on Canadian law today. 

 

We will examine the case of Re Armstrong (1937). This case saw a challenge to the validity of the Last Will and Testament of John Armstrong, a prominent Toronto businessman. At issue in this case was the issue of testamentary capacity; specifically, whether or not Mr. Armstrong had the mental capacity to make a valid will when his will was executed. After much deliberation, the Court of Appeal determined that Mr. Armstrong had the capacity to execute a valid will and that it should be upheld. This case established a precedent for testamentary capacity in Ontario.