The Globe and Mail published an article last week about a case in British Columbia where a father left a will in which his son inherited the entire estate, while his four daughters inherited nothing. Unsurprisingly, the daughters sued the estate, claiming that they were entitled to a share of their late father’s wealth. Under B.C. law, wills must be written to take into consideration “contemporary moral standards,” which in this case was interpreted by the judge as requiring for an equal split of the estate among the five children.
In Ontario, however, the law is more strictly in favour of testamentary freedom; it would be more difficult for a financially independent child to contest a will simply because he or she had been left out of the inheritance.
With deference to the article’s author, where there’s a will, there’s [occasionally] a way to have it overturned.
