Angela Kwok

Yvette Dubajic applied to pass her accounts as Estate Trustee and Power of Attorney for Property for her late father.

Her sister and niece opposed the accounts, sought an accounting back to 2003, and applied to remove Yvette as Estate Trustee.

The court found Yvette acted with ordinary prudence and diligence, passed her accounts for the relevant periods, and dismissed the application to remove her.

The court also awarded Yvette $15,000 in executor's compensation and ordered the opposing parties to personally pay a portion of her legal costs due to their unreasonable conduct.

The moving party, an estate trustee, brought a motion to add her sister as a respondent to two consolidated applications: an application to pass accounts and an application for the removal of the estate trustee.

The sister and her daughter opposed the joinder.

The court found that the sister was an interested party who had demanded an accounting and was a possible beneficiary of the estate.

Applying Rules 5.03 and 9.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the court concluded that the sister was a necessary party whose rights could be affected by the outcome.

The motion was granted, and the sister was ordered to be added as a party to both applications.