Nathalie Scott

The Estate Trustee applied to pass accounts for the estate of Françoise Poitras.

The remaining issues were the Trustee's compensation and the parties' legal costs.

The court awarded the Trustee $17,608 in compensation, denying an additional management fee.

On costs, the court found that the Charitable Beneficiaries caused significant delay in finalizing an interim release.

Consequently, the Charitable Beneficiaries were ordered to pay 60% of the Trustee's legal costs incurred after September 2017, with the balance of the Trustee's reasonable costs and the costs of the initial application for directions to be paid by the Estate.

The Estate Trustee brought a motion to determine the wording of a release for an interim distribution of the estate's assets.

The charitable beneficiaries opposed the motion, arguing that an interim distribution could not occur until their objections to the passing of accounts were resolved.

The court found no principled basis to object to the interim distribution, as sufficient funds would remain in the estate to cover potential liabilities.

The court directed the parties to exchange materials and attend a case conference to resolve the remaining disputes and finalize the form of release.