CITATION: LaRush v. LaRush et al., 2026 ONSC 2329
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN JOSEPH PETER LARUSH, deceased
BETWEEN:
PAUL MICHAEL LARUSH
Applicant
– and –
MARK PETER LARUSH, in his personal capacity and in his capacity as Estate Trustee for the Estate of John Joseph Peter LaRush, JEAN RACEY and JOSEPH RAOUL LEFEBVRE
Respondents
Shael Eisen for the Applicant
Sarah Shipley and Sandra Smith for the Respondent, Mark LaRush
HEARD: April 7, 2026
JUDGMENT ON CONTESTED PASSING OF ACCOUNTS
C. Gilmore, J.
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
1In this contested Passing of Accounts, the Applicant, Paul LaRush (“Paul”), seeks repayment from the Respondent, his brother, Mark LaRush (“Mark”), of the sum of $275,000, plus interest and costs. The Applicant submits that his brother breached his fiduciary duty as Estate Trustee, pre-took unmerited compensation and caused losses to the Estate for which he should be compensated by damages.
2Mark concedes that he was not the best record keeper and made some decisions that, in hindsight, did not work out as planned. He intended no malice towards his brother and submits he should not be punished for decisions which he thought would benefit the Estate financially, but which did not work out.
3For the reasons set out below, I find that Mark did not meet the required test for the payment of full Trustee compensation. He should be required to repay certain amounts to his brother by way of a reduction of his compensation and repayment of certain other amounts set out below. Requiring him to pay further damages would not reflect his lack of intention to harm the Estate financially and his clear belief that in renovating his father’s home to make a larger sale profit, he was pursuing a reasonable objective.
BACKGROUND
Background
4Paul and Mark are siblings. They are the only children of the late John LaRush (“the deceased”). The deceased died in November 2018. His wife, Paul and Mark’s mother, died in 2010. The deceased left a Will dated September 15, 2010, naming Paul and Mark as co-Estate Trustees and dividing the residue of his Estate equally between them after the payment of legacies of $10,000 each to the Respondents, Jean Racey and Joseph Lefevre, the parties’ maternal aunt and uncle. Those legacies have been paid out.
5Paul began an Application to pass accounts and for dependent’s relief including interim support in December 2019. On December 18, 2018, Paul renounced as Estate Trustee. Paul’s evidence is that he did not understand the actual effect of the renunciation and that he may not have signed it had he understood what he was signing. Mark denies this and submits that Paul did not want to be involved in the administration of the Estate and willingly signed the renunciation.
6The Estate was comprised of the deceased’s home at 85 Meadowvale Road, Toronto (“Meadowvale”) which Mark valued at $675,000 in his Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee. Other Estate assets were valued at $324,858 for a total value of $999,858.
7While there is some factual dispute about Paul’s involvement with his father, it appears that Paul was residing with his father at least some of the time and providing care for him. Paul’s evidence was that he had been living full time with his father since January 2019 but was thrown out of Meadowvale by Mark after their father died. Mark’s evidence was that Meadowvale had to be readied for sale, so he insisted that Paul