2 total
Court orders production of deceased's lawyer's file to assess potential unexecuted will under SLRA s. 21.1.
The applicant sought an order under s. 9 of the Estates Act to compel the deceased's lawyer to produce her file to determine if an unexecuted draft will could be validated under s. 21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act.
The court considered whether this constituted an impermissible fishing expedition or breached solicitor-client privilege.
Given that the estate trustee did not oppose the relief and the primary beneficiary under the prior will consented, the court ordered the lawyer to produce the file relating to the deceased's 2022 estate planning.
Unsigned note written before death validated as a will under s. 21.1 of the SLRA.
The applicant sought to validate an unsigned note written by the deceased prior to his death as a valid will under s. 21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act.
The court found that the deceased had testamentary capacity and that the document represented a fixed and final expression of his dispositive intentions.
The court recognized the document as a valid will, appointed the applicant as estate trustee, and awarded costs to the applicant from the estate.
