Frank G. Tanner

This ruling addresses the costs of an application for guardianship of person and property.

The applicant, Stephen Vriend, sought costs on a full indemnity scale from Ellen Charlotte Vriend's property.

The court granted Stephen leave to file an updated bill of costs and fixed his costs at a reduced amount, payable from Ellen's property.

The court also reiterated the process for Section 3 counsel to claim their costs, emphasizing that such costs must be determined by the court, not by private agreement.

This application under the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, concerned the guardianship of property for an incapable individual.

The court previously declared the individual incapable of personal care and appointed the applicant as guardian of the person.

This ruling addressed the guardianship of property, finding the individual incapable of managing property.

The court appointed the applicant and the individual's sister as joint guardians of property, approving their management plan.

The court dismissed a request for single-signature reimbursement for small expenses and ordered the guardians to post a one-time security bond of $1,440,000, to be paid from the incapable person's assets, rejecting the applicant's argument against security based on future inheritance.

The court also addressed the Public Guardian and Trustee's costs and clarified issues regarding the estate of the incapable person's late husband.

Costs for the applicant and Section 3 counsel were adjourned for further submissions.

This endorsement addresses an application by Stephen Vriend to be appointed guardian of property and person for his mother, Ellen Charlotte Vriend, who suffers from severe dementia.

The court granted the guardianship of the person, approving the proposed Guardianship Plan.

However, the application for guardianship of property was adjourned due to significant potential conflicts of interest arising from Stephen's role as Estate Trustee for Ellen's deceased husband's estate, from which Ellen is a major beneficiary.

The court also addressed various procedural deficiencies, including improper service on Ellen's siblings and the Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT), and non-compliance with court document formatting rules.

The PGT was ordered to arrange independent legal representation for Ellen to protect her interests regarding the property guardianship.