Elsewhere in our blog articles, we have discussed the creation of a Henson Trust. What happens if the testator/willmaker never created one? This can happen for various reasons, including where the deceased left no Will or if the disability took place after the Will was prepared. Sometimes, the willmaker fails to reveal to the lawyer […]
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It is not uncommon for the average person to have heard of a Henson Trust, but not to have understood its meaning. A Henson Trust is named after a 1989 case involving the will of Leonard Henson of Guelph. The provisions of that will was challenged and eventually led to an important decision that held […]
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This is an old doctrine, but it resurfaced in the 2019 decision of Geffen v Gaertner. In that decision, two children received greater gifts of wealth from their parents than their two siblings. The disappointed children started a lawsuit to set aside the gifts on the basis of unconscionable procurement. Unlike various presumptions that we […]
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Is printing your name the equivalent of signing a Will for the purpose of creating a valid Will? This blog article must be looked at taking into account the substantial compliance rules that will be in effect in Ontario as of January 1, 2022. Substantial compliance means as long as the court believes that a […]
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We are neither tax lawyers nor accounts, however, it is important that we point out to our clients who are the estate trustees aka executors, that they retain the services of a qualified accountant as quickly as possible. It is not uncommon to have an estate with foreign beneficiaries. Beneficiaries who live in another country […]
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Until now, it has been easy to ignore court decisions that have emanated from British Columbia. British Columbia’s law of substantial compliance was so different than Ontario’s that those cases had no meaning here. However, with the sweeping changes coming as of January 1, 2022, the decisions being made in British Columbia are important for […]
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As we have described elsewhere, a holographic Will is a valid Will if entirely in the handwriting of the testator/willmaker and is signed by them. There may be no other writing or printing on the pages. There was no need for many of the normal formalities of a Will, including the witnessing by two individuals. […]
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Not infrequently, we are asked what is wrong with simply downloading from the internet or using a form that someone has purchased at a stationery store. What is wrong with simply doing a Will yourself by writing out your wishes on a piece of paper? The problems are many and it usually boils down to […]
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In the 2021 decision of Virey v. Virey, the court looked at its ability to grant a dependent relief claim even in the face of a full and final divorce judgment and minutes of settlement that stated emphatically that support would end upon the former husband’s death. However, the facts of the case were so […]
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The traditional grounds of attack against a Will are: 1. The Willmaker aka Testator lacked testamentary capacity, in other words, was not mentally well enough to make a will 2. Undue influence, in other words, the Willmaker was coerced, in essence, forced into making a Will against their will 3. A lack of knowledge and […]
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