Jennifer Stebbing

The applicant brought a motion to be appointed as the temporary Guardian of Property for his mother, the respondent.

The respondent had refused to comply with previous court orders to undergo a capacity assessment and had disappeared, leaving her property taxes and mortgage in arrears.

The court found on a balance of probabilities that the respondent lacked the capacity to manage her property and appointed the applicant as temporary Guardian of Property with the authority to sell her residence.

On a contested passing of accounts, the court considered the compensation claimed by an estate trustee during litigation for administering a complex estate over several years involving extensive litigation, missing assets, and the unwinding of a corporate entity owned by the estate.

One charitable beneficiary objected to aspects of the trustee’s compensation, including the application of percentage fees on large capital transactions and the treatment of accounting fees.

The court accepted certain accounting adjustments and deductions but declined to reduce the trustee’s compensation in light of the extraordinary complexity of the estate administration and the significant recovery work undertaken.

A special fee was also awarded for the additional effort required to wind up the corporate estate asset.

The court further determined the outstanding legal fees payable to counsel for several charitable beneficiaries and ordered costs on the passing of accounts.