by Charles Ticker | Jul 24, 2014 | estate law, estate litigation, funeral diputes
On May 30, 2014 I posted a blog on the sad case of Casey Kasem. In that blog I outlined the dispute between Casey’s children from his first marriage and his second spouse over personal care decisions. Unfortunately since posting that blog Casey Kasem passed away on...
by Charles Ticker | Feb 18, 2014 | estate law, estate litigation, infliction of mental distress, neighbor dispute
I have previously blogged about a sibling estate fight that turned into a nasty neighbour dispute . Read the earlier blog here. The case Fitzpatrick v. Orwin and Squires involved a dispute over a property line that got very ugly when the neighbour Fitzpatrick was...
by Charles Ticker | Jan 10, 2014 | estate law, estate litigation, proprietary estoppel, will challenge
In the past I have blogged about the doctrine of proprietary estoppel in the context of an estate dispute over ownership of a farm (See Breakfast with Gus). The Ontario Court of Appeal in Schwark Estate v. Cutting 2010 ONCA 61 summarized the law of proprietary...
by Charles Ticker | Nov 5, 2013 | estate law, estate litigation, removing executor
When I was drafting Wills my clients would quite often have difficulty in deciding whom they should appoint to be their executor. While they usually would appoint their spouse, when it came to appointing other alternate executors, they typically would tend to appoint...
by Charles Ticker | Aug 2, 2013 | eldercare, estate law, estate litigation, powers of attorney, will challenge
In the past, I have blogged and spoken about the duties of an attorney (substitute decision maker) acting under a power of attorney. I am consulted on a regular basis by family members of incapable persons who have concerns or complaints concerning the failure of an...
by Charles Ticker | Jun 14, 2013 | estate litigation, solicitor negligence
A recent decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Semenoff Estate v. Bridgeman, highlights the problems that can result when joint tenancy is used as an estate planning tool , non-lawyers draft their own legal documents and ask their lawyers to accept and...
