Comments? Send us an email at hull.lawyers@gmail.com, call us on the comment line at 206-350-6636, or leave us a comment on the Hull on Estates blog.

This week on Hull on Estates, Sean Graham and Rick Bickhram talk about the Declarations of Death Act. They discuss what happens when a person goes missing from a jurisdiction and some possible remedies.

Comments? Send us an email at hull.lawyers@gmail.com, call us on the comment line at 206-350-6636, or leave us a comment on the Hull on Estates blog.

Comments? Leave us a message on our comment line at 206-350-6636, send us an email at hull.lawyers@gmail.com or you can post a comment on our blog at http://estatelaw.hullandhull.com/.

This week on Hull on Estates, David Smith and Megan Connolly discuss constructive trust claims made against an estate by a non-married spouse.

Section 64 of the Succession Law Reform Act is referenced, as is the Puliver case and the Manninon case.

Rule 60 of the Rules of Civil Procedure was referenced, as well as the decision in Belanger v. McGrade Estate (2003), 65 O.R. (3d) 829 (Ont. S.C.J.).

They also cover the importance of documentation of intent and discuss potential drawbacks of the mutual will.

For more information on this topic, see the article by Debra L. Stephens, "Mutual Wills: A Primer", which was presented at The Six Minute Estates Lawyer 2007, on April 10, 2007.

These two decisions concern joint bank accounts and the decision of right of survivorship, as well as the question of presumptions resulting trust and advancement.

Craig and Bianca also refer to Rule 60.05 and Rule 60.11 from the Rules of Civil Procedure which govern contempt motions.

For more information on the conflict of laws, as it relates to this case, please see:

1. McCallum v. Ryan Estate, [2002] O.J. No. 1088 (SCJ)
2. Re Montizamber Estate, [1973] O.J. No. 1035 (SCJ)
3. Smallman v. Smallman Estate, [1991] O.J. No. 1718 (OJC - Gen. Div.).

Ian discusses a book he has recently read, Getting Things Done by David Allen. Ian heard about this book on the Marketing Monger podcast.

Ian and Suzana's Practice Tip for this podcast helps the process of fiduciary accounting go smoothly.

Paul and Sean examine this estate topic with respect to the case of Fales v. Canada Permanent Trust Co. and  Cooper (No. 2) Re.

David discusses the circumstances that surround the clauses in Section 16 of the Succession Law Reform Act and how this issue can cause estate litigation. 

Visit http://estatelaw.hullandhull.com to find more podcasts on managing estate litigation. 

Justin and Megan summarize the case and cover issues such as capacity, breach of fiduciary duty and elder abuse.

Ian and Suzana cover various principles which affect the power to encroach including the Armchair rule of construction, the Evenhand approach and the concept of malefides.

They also touch on various cases including the U.K. case of Gisbourne v. Gisbourne, and Fox v. Fox Estate (1994), 5 E.T.R. (2d) 174 (Ont.Ct. (Gem Div.))

For more information on the power to encroach, see Ian's article in Estates, Trusts & Pensions Journal, "Discretion to Encroach: Do the Beneficiary's Personal Resources Matter?"

Sean and Paul also cover the importance of detailed documentation such as Solicitor's notes and prior Wills, as well as Intestacy and Knowledge and Approval of the Will. 

For more information on this topic, see the case of Salisbury v. Dell (1993 Ont. Gen Div) and Jordan Atin's artice, The Estate Trustee During Litigation, in Estate Litigation, volume 2. 2^nd ed. (Toronto: Thomson Carswell, 2000) at p.24-1.

Visit http://estatelaw.hullandhull.com to find more podcasts on managing estate litigation. 

Referring to the texts of Jackson and Powell on Professional Negligence  and Black's Law Dictionary, negligence claims, the standard and duty of care and the question of onus are considered.

The cases of Haag v. Marshall in the British Columbia Court of Appeal, Sykes v. Midland Bank [1971] 1 Q.B. 113 and Major v. Buchanan (1975), 9 O.R. (2nd) 491 at 514, 61 D.L.R. (3rd) 46 (H.C.)are also examined.