Category: Undue Influence
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Rebutting the Presumption of Resulting Trust
Can a parent make a gift of property to some adult children but not others? Is mere suspicion that the transfer is “out of character” sufficient to challenge such a gift? In Hegel Estate v. Logan, 2014 BCSC 1026 the Supreme Court of British Columbia addressed allegations of undue influence and affirmed the framework for […]
Settling an estate: Denied a share of parent’s property
Your mother passes away and steps of settling the estate begin. You assumed that on her death you and your siblings would each get an equal share of her property. In the process of settling the estate, you discover that while she was alive your mother gratuitously transferred ownership of her home to only some of […]
A Presumption of Undue influence Where one Party Can Dominate Another
Quick answer: Undue influence means a gift or a will was the product of pressure rather than the free choice of the person who made it. In British Columbia, two separate presumptions can apply: one for wills under section 52 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, and a common-law presumption for gifts made during […]
Suspicious Circumstances Displace Presumption of Valid Will
Usually where the person making a will is shown to have properly executed the will, and to have reviewed it and understood it, the court will presume that the testator knew and approved of the will’s contents and had the necessary capacity to make a valid will. However, in some cases there will be suspicious […]
Undue Influence, Mental Illness, Trusts and Life Estates
In BC, the presumption of undue influence can arise where one person is in a position to dominate another in a relationship of trust or dependence. The presumption is not automatic. The court first asks whether the relationship had the potential for one party to influence the other. This case raised issues of mental illness, […]