WESA and Jurisdictional Challenges – Part 2
In the first part of this Blog, we discussed the decision of Mr. Justice Cole in Cresswell v. Cresswell Estate, 2017 BCSC 178 where the Court was faced with an application by the Defedants in this matter for an Order that the Supreme Court of British Columbia did not have the jurisdiction to hear the matter or in the alternative …Read more →
Considering Testamentary Capacity – Part 2
Determinations of testamentary capacity are central to many Estate Litigation disputes in British Columbia. In Part 1 of this blog, we reviewed a recent decision Bach Estate (Re), 2017 BCSC 548 wherein Mr. Justice Kelleher considered the definition of “testamentary capacity”. In brief summary, testamentary capacity means whether the Deceased was of sound mind, memory and understanding and whether they …Read more →
Considering Testamentary Capacity – Part 1
One of the unique challenges for Courts in dealing with matters of Estate Litigation is that Judges must try to understand the motivation and actions of the Deceased who cannot testify and give evidence for themselves. When a litigant is unhappy with the distribution of an estate, one tactic that they may consider is challenging whether the Deceased had the …Read more →