Estate Administration or Will Interpretation
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Gilchrist v Gilchrist, 2023 SKKB 187
The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Gilchrist v Gilchrist, 2023 SKKB 187 offers a reminder of the importance of updating your will. If you do not update your will, and certain beneficiaries named in your will have died before you, the legal outcome may be...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Gibb Estate (Re), 2023 SKKB 34
The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Gibb Estate (Re), is an example of the Court’s ability to render a document effective as a testamentary document, even if said document was executed without all the formal requirements of the Wills Act, 1996.Factual...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Armstrong v Lee Grant, 2023 SKKB 111
The recent Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench decision in Armstrong v Lee Grant, 2023 SKKB 111 involved the question of when a trust beneficiary can attempt to unilaterally collapse a trust, and demand property from the trust immediately.Factual background: The...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Kuffner v. Jacques, 2023 SKKB 14
The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Kuffner v. Jacques offers guidance on when the merits of a will challenge can be decided in a summary fashion, as opposed to a full trial.Factual background: The factual background in Kuffner was as follows: The Will...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Peters (Estate) (Re), 2022 SKQB 186
The recent Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench decision in Peters (Estate) (Re), 2022 SKQB 186 prohibits the practice of altering an affidavit without actually re-swearing it.Factual background: The background facts in Peters can be described as follows: Antonia Peters died on...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Martin v Martin, 2022 SKCA 79
The recent Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision in Martin v Martin, 2022 SKCA 79 offers a reminder of the litigation which can ensue when a person puts another family member on title, and a dispute later arises as to whether that person holds beneficial title, or,...
Estate Litigation Update: Poole v Dailey, 2020 SKQB 226
I practise in the area of estate litigation and am often reminded of the importance of having a clearly drafted Will. A good recent example comes from the decision in Poole v Dailey, 2020 SKQB 226. The deceased had left his estate between his two children, Brian and...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Vance (Re), 2021 SKQB 320
The recent decision in Vance (Re), 2021 SKQB 320, reminds us of the importance of keeping our wills updated. The application in Vance was brought by De-Anna Lynn Bailey, in relation to the estate of her nephew, James Benjamin Gilbert Vance (“Deceased”). Background To...
Funeral expenses: Why executors should pay them promptly
This article discusses the payment of funeral expenses out of an estate, and why executors should pay them promptly. The first reason is practical. After death, the funeral home is often the first to provide a service to the estate. It disposes of the body in a safe...
Rebutting the Presumption of Resulting Trust – A Refresher
Today’s post comes from Wagner Sidlofsky LLP, a well-known estate law blog. The article talks about the importance of creating a contemporaneous evidentiary record of a parent’s intention when gifting property to their adult children. If a parent places an adult...