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Minor Child Not Permitted to have Counsel to Advocate Against Disfavoured Parent
The Court of Appeal, in J.E.S.D. v. Y.E.P. 2018 BCCA 286, found that a 17 year old child who had persistently refused any contact with her father was not enti…
Testamentary Capacity: Challenging a Will Made by a Person with Dementia
Issues of testamentary capacity frequently arise when a new will is made under ostensibly suspicious circumstances: late in a will-maker’s life, while in the t…
Predatory Marriage in BC Set Aside Due to Incapacity
The landmark decision in Devore-Thompson v. Poulain, 2017 BCSC 1289 represents the first reported case where the Supreme Court of BC declared a marriage void d…
Using Unjust Enrichment to Rebut Presumption of Joint Tenants’ Equal Interest
In Suen v. Suen, 2016 BCCA 107, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia applied the doctrine of unjust enrichment in the context of a complex family dynamic…
Vancouver Estate Litigation: Did Mother Intend to Give House to Son?
As I have recently discussed, gratuitous inter vivos transfers made without consideration frequently give rise to Vancouver estate litigation. As people age th…
Financial Nondisclosure the “Cancer” of BC Estate Litigation
In Haley (Re), 2017 BCSC 2057, nondisclosure of financial information and assets surrounding the passing of accounts was described as the cancer of BC estate l…
BC Estate Law: Who is Responsible for Paying Costs in a Wills Variation Action?
In a BC wills variation action, costs usually follow the event, meaning the losing party pays the winner’s costs personally rather than the estate footing the…
BC Wills Variation: Legal and Moral Duties to Second Spouse in Balancing Estate Claims
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 of adult ind…
Genetic Material Rights BC: Is Reproductive Material Property?
Developments in assisted reproductive technology have required a re-examination of genetic material rights BC and the world over. Determination of the nature a…