Mary E. Vallee

Following a consent resolution of an application challenging the validity of a power of attorney, the court determined the issue of costs.

The application had questioned the capacity of an elderly individual to execute a new power of attorney appointing different attorneys for property.

After reviewing evidence including a capacity assessment raising concerns about vulnerability, the court found the applicant had acted reasonably in bringing the application and in resolving the dispute by consent.

Applying principles from estate litigation jurisprudence permitting costs to be paid from the estate where reasonable concerns about capacity arise, the court ordered that both parties recover their legal costs from the incapable person's assets.

An estate trustee applied to pass accounts relating to the administration of his mother’s estate.

One beneficiary objected to the accounts, alleging mismanagement, inadequate disclosure, excessive legal fees, and improper handling of estate assets and tax filings.

After hearing viva voce evidence from the estate trustee and considering the objections, the court found the trustee credible and concluded he had administered the estate fairly and reasonably.

The objections were rejected and the estate accounts were approved.

Legal fees incurred by the estate were held to be properly payable from the estate, and the objecting beneficiary was ordered to bear his own legal costs.

The appellant's income assistance was terminated after she failed to provide required information regarding changes in her circumstances, as required by the Ontario Works Act and its regulations.

She appealed, arguing that her non-compliance should only result in the termination of her own assistance, not that of her dependant daughter.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the failure to provide core financial information precludes the administrator from calculating assistance, thereby rendering the dependant's exemption inapplicable.