4 - Temperament in an Estate Dispute Case

Summary

Facts

On November 8, 2019, before the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta, two siblings, Tom and Elsa, discussed how to distribute their deceased parents’ estate. Their father had died in June 2008, and their mother passed away almost three years later. When the father died, the estate and values consisted of a residence ($345,000), personal property ($4,330), a portfolio of investments ($71,000), and a boathouse cabin ($92,000). Additionally, assets such as personal belongings remained in both houses waiting to be inventoried and disposed of.

The estate also had many costs to cover, such as unpaid municipal taxes for the properties and other management fees. Tom and Elsa were named as the personal representatives of the estate and tasked with liquidating and distributing its assets and liabilities. Agreeing on finances—that is, deciding who gets what, how much, and why—is not easy. Yet, the hardest issues often have nothing to do with money, but with the complexity of feelings involved and the gap of recognition between the parties. This case revolved around “feelings and finances,” as Elsa's counsel, Marie, put it.

Elsa had financial difficulties of her own, even before her parents died. To help her out, her parents had let her and her husband live in the residence property until their situation improved—for more than eleven years. She devoted a significant amount of time to helping their parents cope with their physical conditions for many years, and she felt that her time and efforts should have been compensated or at least acknowledged by her brother.

Tom was frustrated that his sister had lived rent-free—without even paying the taxes on the property—and that she continued to delay any agreement by refusing his offer to distribute the estate. She even asked to keep the most valuable asset, the house, for herself. He generated multiple offers to deal with their differences, but none were satisfactory to her; he thought Elsa was uncooperative and messy with numbers.

Though an application for a Grant of Probate was made, they were not able to resolve their differences, partition the estate, and honor their parents. In fact, they were so polarized they could not even agree on language for their parents’ gravestone.

Tom filed a petition asking the court to settle these issues once and for all.