Estate Litigation Basics-2010 Update

This book is essential for: lawyers starting out a practice in the area of wills, estates, and trusts litigation; the book may also be of interest to general practitioners.

Current to: October 2010 

Get back to basics!
This book provides you with the fundamental building blocks and essential information to litigate a wills and estates case and to build a practice in the area. We examine substantive, procedural, and ethical topics that will prepare you to successfully conduct your estate litigation practice. Covered in this set of materials: drafting affidavit paragraphs, contested committeeships, challenging inter vivos transfers, a primer on the Wills Variation Act, probate actions, and dealing with the problem executor.

Course Materials Coordinator
Amy D. Francis — Legacy Tax +Trusts Lawyers, Vancouver

CONTENTS

• view from the bench: drafting affidavit paragraphs
• contested committeeships: issues commonly encountered, committeeship process
• challenging inter vivos transfers and beneficiary designations: types of claims and remedies
• interpretation of wills: the will read as a whole, evidence surrounding circumstances, procedure, cy pres, unborn contingent beneficiaries
• Wills Variation Act primer: considerations for variation, practice points
• practising estate litigation: sample joint retainer provisions; resources for estate litigation lawyers
• probate actions: general principles, challenges to wills, procedural steps and the Rules of Court, costs in probate actions
• dealing with the problem executor: precedents; passing accounts (or, a passel of passing problems)