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This obligation can often be overwhelming and intimidating for many when dealing with a legal case. However, this is a common and essential aspect of serval legal matters, especially family or the process of wills variation.
Financial disclosure for Wills Variation is providing information about the financial assets and liabilities of a deceased person’s estate to the beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries seeking to challenge the terms of the will. This information is necessary to determine the estate’s value and ensure that any claims for variation are based on accurate financial information. Essentially, it’s about being transparent and open about the estate’s financial situation to ensure fairness in the distribution of assets. Financial disclosure is based on the circumstance of each case. Financial disclosure is essential as it promotes transparency and provides fairness and honesty so that the court can make a fair decision on how to distribute assets.
What happens if you do not provide full disclosure or are dishonest?
If you fail to provide full disclosure or decide to be dishonest, there can be severe consequences, which could impact the outcome of your case. Firstly, failing to provide full disclosure can harm your credibility and make it more difficult for the court to trust your evidence. The court relies on full and frank disclosure to make decisions in the best interests of all parties involved. If you are found to be dishonest or misleading, the court may view your evidence with suspicion and may be less likely to accept it. Secondly, if the court discovers you have not disclosed fully, they may impose penalties or other sanctions. For example, the court may order you to pay costs or dismiss your claim entirely. You must weigh the cost and benefits when disclosing finances to the court, as honesty and transparency in any legal matter can benefit you significantly compared to dishonesty, which could cost you your case. By providing complete and frank disclosure, you can demonstrate your credibility and help ensure a fair outcome for all parties involved.
For further questions, or your 1 hour free consultation contact our firm.
This obligation can often be overwhelming and intimidating for many when dealing with a legal case. However, this is a common and essential aspect of serval legal matters, especially family or the process of wills variation. Financial disclosure for Wills Variation is providing information about the financial assets and liabilities of a deceased person’s estate […]
Background Justice Douglas refused to prejudge a wills variation claim on an interim application. In Rivers v. DeVouge, 2022 BCSC 2267, John Richter successfully defended an application brought by the plaintiff wife. The deceased husband prepared a new will and created an alter ego trust shortly before he died. He transferred many of the assets […]
Settlement Offers and Releases: Pitfalls and Problems Most litigants are able to resolve their issues without trial by agreement. Releases are a standard part of the process and provide assurance to both sides of the transaction that the issue has been laid to rest and neither side can bring any future claims. Often the releases […]
Secret Trusts: What are they and how do they work? Secret Trusts are not solely the product of Hollywood murder mysteries. While they are rare, they still do make an appearance in Estate claims. Most recently, they came before our Court of Appeal in Bergler v. Odenthal, 2020 BCCA 175 What is a “Secret Trust”? […]
In a case decided earlier this year, the British Columbia Supreme Court discussed the implications of a testator altering his or her will after the will has been made. In Levesque Estate (Re), 2019 BCSC 927, the testatrix made a will nine years before her passing. At some point during the time between the creation […]
Common questions that people have in British Columbia estate law include: “Is a draft will legal” or “binding” or “valid”? This article attempts to give some guidance on how to answer those questions. In British Columbia, for a will to be valid, it must meet the requirements found in Section 37 of the Wills, Estates […]
In BC, the Family Law Act and Wills, Estates and Succession Act define the term spouse by reference to the term “separation”. Under WESA, section 2 provides that spouses cease to be spouses as follows: If they are married, on separation as it is considered under the FLA; or If they are living in a common […]
Can my teenager make a will and can I wills variation it? Section 36 of the new Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA) says that a person who is 16 years old and mentally capable of doing so can make a will. A 16 year old making a valid will is new in British Columbia […]
Recently in Easingwood v. CRockroft, 2013 BCCA 182, the honourable Madam Justice Saunders of the British Columbia Court of Appeal considered the legalities arising when an attorney under a power of attorney creates an alter ego trust on behalf of a principal. For a better understanding of alter ego trusts, please click here. The case […]
An alter ego trust may be used to avoid wills variation claims. When someone dies, everything that was in their legal name at the time of death is presumed to form part of the deceased’s estate. It is the deceased’s estate that then passes to beneficiaries. Who the beneficiaries are is usually determined by the […]
Beyond a consideration of the competing legal claims are the moral claims which the courts must consider in deciding a Wills Variation Act claim. These moral claims are usually more individual and specific than legal claims and can include the most varied considerations, some of which be assured/implied expectations, disability and financial circumstances. It will […]
The most intriguing part of the Wills Variation Act (now the Wills, Estates and Succession Act) is that “adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support” and “adequate, just and equitable” is judged in light of contemporary community standards, legal and moral. These legal and moral standards are different in different parts of our country, different in […]
It was the earlier lobbying of women’s groups in the early 20th century that was responsible for the enactment of the first Wills Variation Act (now the Wills Estates and Succession Act). The evolving rights and role of women in society has continued to stand behind the interpretation of the Wills Variation Act by the […]
Beneficiaries have to be able to trust their trustee. Period. Trusts occur in different ways: Automatically by operation of the law, by express written document, or by express unwritten agreement. Sometimes trustees don’t know they’re trustees because the trust has arisen automatically by operation of the law. That is no excuse. The relationship between a […]
A beneficial interest is a term used to describe the situation that occurs when something is held in “trust”. You may have a beneficial interest in something if you are the “real” owner of it, but legally it is “held” by someone else. For example, Benny is 80 years old. Benny buys this house with […]
A BC estate is subject to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA, formerly the Wills Variation Act). WESA allows spouses and children to vary wills of their parents and spouses. In such cases, the court struggles with balancing two principles: that a deceased has the right to choose what should happen with their assets […]
Estate litigation lawyers use part of the Wills Estates and Succession Act (or WESA, formerly the Wills Variation Act) when varying wills. In British Columbia, wives, husbands and children are protected from their parents or spouses writing wills and leaving their assets in a way that offends contemporary community standards. Section 60 of WESA (formerly Section […]