Blog Posts

Below are our blog posts about recent developments in the areas of Estate, Family and Personal Injury law as well as comments on some recent important decisions from the BC Supreme Court, BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Our blogs are written by the legal minds of Richter Trial Lawyers, including our managing partner, John M. Richter.

Prejudging Wills Variation Claims
February 21, 2023

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 […]

Is a Draft Will Legal?
March 7, 2017

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 […]

Deed of Gift Unnecessary to Avoid Resulting Trust
February 21, 2017

A recent court of appeal decision makes it clear that evidence of a full and complete gift (rather than resulting trust) does not necessarily mean a “deed of gift”. The recent court of appeal case regarding the McKendry Estate involved Mary McKendry (deceased), her 5 children (4 daughters 1 son), and the Vancouver property purchased by […]

5 Ways to Get Removed as Executor
November 24, 2016

There’s nothing worse than dealing with a bad executor after the death of a loved one. They have all the control and as beneficiary you have all of the rights, or so you’re told. But what if they just won’t be reasonable? They say they’re going to tie up the estate up years. They are […]

Wills Variation Warrior
April 9, 2014

British Columbia wills variation lawyers have pause to remember one of the great warriors of the past. One of the seminal decisions for the unique British Columbia statutory provision giving the court authority to change a will is the now 83-year-old Supreme Court of Canada Contested Will Claim Walker v. McDermott [1931] SCR 94. This […]

Moral versus Legal Claims
April 14, 2013

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 […]

Adequate Provision that is Just and Equitable
April 10, 2013

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 […]

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