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Oral trust over temple property upheld against the estate.
Following a trial of a common issue in two consolidated applications, the court determined the beneficial ownership of a Mississauga property used as a Buddhist temple.
The applicants alleged that the registered owners held title in trust for a charitable corporation, while the estate contended the deceased monk beneficially owned the property personally.
Applying the law of trusts, the court found certainty of intention and certainty of objects, held that the corporation was ascertainable as the sole beneficiary, and concluded that the estate could not invoke the Statute of Frauds to defeat the oral trust.
The court further held that the corroboration requirement in s. 13 of the Evidence Act was satisfied and declared that the corporation is the sole beneficial owner, with the registered owners holding legal title in trust for it.
