Latest Articles
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: Klaptchuk v Johnson, 2023 SKCA 25
The recent Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision in Klaptchuk v Johnson is a reminder of the principle of devastavit, which forbids an executor from distributing estate assets in disregard of a creditor’s outstanding claim against the estate. That said, Klaptchuk...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Kowalinski v Kowalinski (Estate), 2023 SKKB 131
The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Kowalinski v Kowalinski (Estate) is an example of how some estates can devolve into bitter quarrelling between the children of a deceased.Factual background: This matter arose out of the Estate of Maria Kowalinski...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Riben Estate (Re), 2023 SKKB 72
The recent Saskatchewan Court of King’s Bench decision in Riben Estate (Re), 2023 SKKB 72 offers a reminder that a will challenger who alleges coercion must offer direct evidence to actually prove that pressure resulted in the creation of the challenged will. If they...
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: Bell v Bell, 2023 SKCA 53
The recent Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision in Bell v Bell, 2023 SKCA 53 upheld a Court of Queen’s Bench decision, in which a Chambers Judge had dismissed a will challenge.Factual background: In his application in Queen’s Bench, Wayne Bell had challenged the will...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Vaudreuil v Madson, 2023 SKKB 19
The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Vaudreuil v Madson is an example of a testamentary document in which a trial was required to determine its validity. This was because of contradictory evidence which had been adduced as to require findings of...
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: Nagy v. Graves, 2022 CarswellSask 590, 2022 SKKB 257
The recent Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench decision in Nagy v. Graves reminds us that a Court will often remove executors who are guilty of extreme delay in administering an Estate.Factual background: The factual background in Nagy was as follows: Nine siblings of the Nagy...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Bell v Bell, 2022 SKQB 198
The recent Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench decision in Bell v Bell, 2022 SKQB 198 is an example of a Will challenge which did not succeed in raising a genuine issue for trial. Bell reminds us that Courts will generally require firsthand evidence of incapacity or of...
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,...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Kaushik v Kaushik, 2022 SKQB 135
The recent Saskatchewan Queen’s Bench decision in Kaushik v Kaushik, 2022 SKQB 135, offers an overview of a situation in which multiple persons concurrently seek to be appointed as the sole administrator of an Estate.Overview: Sadhna Kaushik applied for appointment as...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: McCabe v Kowalyshyn, 2022 SKCA 56
The recent Court of Appeal decision in McCabe v Kowalyshyn, 2022 SKCA 56, offers various lessons to Estate litigators. These include: The reality that court approvals of Estate land sales, under s. 50.5 of The Administration of Estates Act, SS 1998, c A-4.1, do not...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Campbell v. Cooper, 2017 Carswell Sask 334, 2017 SKCA 55
This article offers a case comment on a 2017 Saskatchewan decision, Campbell v. Cooper. The decision reminds us that beneficiaries who have been wronged by an executor should remember to begin an action within 2 years of when they discover said wrong.Facts: The...
National Post article on poorly drafted wills
A recent article from the National Post underscores how important it is to ensure that your Will is up to date and that it is well-drafted. I do not personally draft wills, as I focus on estate litigation disputes. However, I have seen firsthand that a homemade will...
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: Hayes v Swift, 2021 SKQB 132
The recent decision in Hayes v Swift, 2021 SKQB 132 offers a reminder that beneficiaries should ensure they have real evidence of executor wrongdoing before they bring a court application against an executor. Facts: The testator, Bernard William Hayes, had passed...
Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Whelan v Chaszewski, 2021 SKQB 286
The recent decision in Whelan v Chaszewski, 2021 SKQB 286 offers guidance for a situation in which two competing parties want to be appointed to administer an estate. The lesson from Whelan is that a court will not generally appoint a party who has a potential...
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...