BC Estate Law: Who Pays Costs of a Wills Variation Action?
Who pays the legal costs and expenses relating to BC estate law proceedings? Are costs paid out of the estate or is the party personally liable? The…
BC Wills Variation: Legal and Moral Duties to Second Spouse
In BC wills variation claims, the courts are often asked to weigh the legal and moral duties of a will-maker to a second spouse against the claims…
BC Will Dispute: Can a Handwritten Will be Valid?
The effectiveness of a handwritten will is a common BC will dispute. When can an unsigned handwritten document be an effective will or alteration of an earlier…
Wills Variation: Testamentary Freedom vs. Legal/Moral Duties
The conceptual core of wills variation legislation is to permit judicial interference with testamentary freedom where adequate provision has not been made in respect of a narrow…
Long-Term Second Spouse’s Successful Wills Variation Claim
The British Columbia court was recently asked to decide a wills variation claim brought by a long-term second spouse who was essentially left out of her husband’s…
Estate Law – Common Pitfalls when Preparing a Will
At Onyx, we’ve seen many estate files where family members dispute the will because the will was prepared inadequately. Below, we’ve outlined some common pitfalls that may…
Wills Variation: Changing Will After Death of Spouse
There are many factors that the court considers when a surviving spouse brings a wills variation application to change the will after the death of a spouse….
Wills Variation: Moral Obligation to Children of First Marriage
As I have previously discussed, on a wills variation application, the moral obligation to independent adult children is usually more tenuous than the moral obligation to the…
Moral Obligation to Spouse Garners $225K Wills Variation
In Morgan v. Pengelly Estate, 2011 BCSC 1114, the court heard a wills variation claim brought by a man who had been left out of his partner’s…
Wills Variation Action Not Barred By Marriage Agreement
The existence of a marriage agreement barring a wills variation action is not determinative of a surviving spouse’s claim under wills variation legislation. In Morgan v. Pengelly…