Kelly Charlebois

In a will challenge and dependants' support proceeding, the moving parties sought production of financial records from Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd. (GRE), a third-party corporation in which the deceased held a 12.5% interest, and leave to examine two non-parties regarding the deceased's will.

The court granted both motions, finding that the financial records were relevant to valuing the estate and assessing the testamentary sense of the will, and that the non-parties possessed relevant information not obtainable elsewhere.

The moving party, executor of an estate in Saskatchewan, brought a motion to stay or dismiss an application in Ontario regarding a Locked-in Retirement Account (LIRA) on the basis of jurisdiction.

The responding party, the deceased's former spouse residing in Ontario, sought a declaration that she was the designated beneficiary of the LIRA held by CIBC.

The court applied the Van Breda test and found that Ontario had jurisdiction simpliciter because the contract was located in Ontario, the executor lived in Ontario, and CIBC's head office was in Ontario.

The court also declined to find that Saskatchewan was a more appropriate forum, dismissing the motion and awarding costs to the responding party.

Following a motion for interim support where the applicant was ordered to pay costs in the cause, the respondent Estate Trustee sought to vary the costs order based on a previously undisclosed offer to settle.

The court found the offer was more favourable to the applicant than the motion's outcome.

The court amended the costs order, directing that the $40,000 in partial indemnity costs be payable by the applicant in any event of the cause at the conclusion of the application.

The applicant, the common-law spouse of the deceased, brought a motion for interim support under the Succession Law Reform Act pending the final determination of her dependant's support application.

The deceased was a wealthy real estate developer who left his entire estate to his estranged wife and daughters.

The court rejected the applicant's budget of over $93,000 per month as unsubstantiated and overstated, instead awarding $30,000 per month in interim support.

The court dismissed the applicant's requests for interim legal fees, HST indemnification, and production of the deceased's estate planning files.

The court also granted the estate's cross-motion in part, imposing restrictions on the applicant's use of the estate-owned condominium, including a 15-person guest limit and a ban on posting interior photos on social media.