The estate trustee sought directions regarding whether certain payments under a mediated consent judgment resolving family law claims could be distributed from the estate ahead of unrelated tort claims arising from aviation litigation.
The court considered the priority of equalization and dependant support claims under the Creditors’ Relief Act, the Family Law Act, and the Succession Law Reform Act.
The court held that the former spouse’s lump sum payment, characterized as an equalization payment and global settlement of retroactive and ongoing support, had priority over competing civil claims against the estate.
The court also held that the deceased’s common-law spouse’s lump sum dependant support award had priority over those claims.
However, the adult children failed to establish that they were dependants under the Succession Law Reform Act or that the amounts claimed were justified as support, and therefore their entitlements did not receive priority over the aviation claims.
