Hearsay Evidence in Estate Litigation
The law of evidence in British Columbia is nuanced and complex with varied exceptions to the myriad of rules. A general rule that has been that hearsay evidence is not admissible. Hearsay evidence is statements made outside of court which are presented in court for the trust of that statement. In Estate Litigation, questions regarding the admissibility of hearsay evidence …Read more →
Presumption of Destruction – Estate Litigation in B.C.
While it might be trite to say, wills are the central documents around which most estate litigation disputes arise. Estate litigation in British Columbia frequently involves questions regarding the validity of wills, changes to wills, the creation of wills and variation of wills. However, another related issue arises when the original will cannot be found and when a litigant claims …Read more →
Production of Solicitor’s Files to Personal Representatives Part 2
Questioning Solicitor-Client Privilege in BC Courts & Canadian Law In Part 1 of this blog post, we began to review the decision of Stapleton v. Doe, 2017 BCSC 12 which is a recent decision of Master Wilson considering the application by a personal representative to compel production of a solicitor’s file. A brief summary of the facts is as follows: …Read more →