Gordon Meiklejohn

The plaintiffs, beneficiaries of their late mother's life insurance policy, brought a motion against the defendant trustee who had withheld the proceeds.

The defendant admitted to using the trust funds to purchase real estate in his own name under the mistaken belief he was a beneficiary.

The court ordered the defendant to immediately pay the remaining $389,559.39 to the plaintiffs, granted a certificate of pending litigation over properties purchased with the trust funds, and ordered the defendant to provide a full accounting within 60 days.

The applicant sought an order declaring a photocopy of the deceased's will valid and appointing herself as the sole estate trustee, removing the respondent siblings due to an alleged conflict of interest.

The respondents consented to the validity of the will but opposed their removal as trustees.

The court found that while the parties disagreed on the valuation and handling of certain corporate preference shares, this disagreement did not amount to a conflict of interest or sufficient hostility to override the testator's choice of trustees.

The application to remove the respondents was dismissed, and all three siblings were appointed as joint estate trustees.