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62555.01This paper reviews twenty key Alberta decisions from 2025 concerning wills, estates, and related areas of capacity, undue influence, and estate administration. These cases collectively demonstrate the Alberta courts’ continued emphasis on testamentary intention, the importance of procedural compliance in estate administration, and a careful balance between capacity, undue influence, and rectification principles. The summaries are organized thematically to assist practitioners in identifying key trends and takeaways. These materials were presented at LESA’s Wills and Estates: Case Law Update 2025 webinar on December 10, 2025.
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62541.01Estate practitioners are tasked with the challenging responsibility of assisting clients and the Courts to navigate through the ever-changing legal landscape surrounding AIPs. This paper explores the implications of adult interdependent relationships and how they are treated in the estate context in Alberta. These materials were presented at LESA’s Were they AIPs? A Comprehensive Review of Adult Interdependent Relationships in the Estate Context webinar on November 24, 2025.
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62504.01As Canadians increasingly create and store content and assets online, the concerns for Personal Representatives, Agents, Trustees and Attorneys in managing and administering those assets should be carefully considered. With the objective of informing advisors to these Trustees, this paper explores the landscape of access to digital assets, the gaps therein, and provides some recommendations on how to best serve your clients. These materials were presented at LESA’s Digital Afterlife: Navigating Online Assets in Estate Planning webinar on May 22, 2025
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62457.11This paper examines the classes of individuals entitled to make FMS claims; relevant provisions of the Wills and Succession Act; the applicability (and non-applicability) of family property and child support legislation to the Statute of Elizabeth; and unjust enrichment. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.10Estate litigation in Alberta involves navigating complex legal issues. This paper explores the role of the personal representative in managing estate disputes, provides insight into assessing the impact and advisability of litigation, and considers various factors that personal representatives and lawyers acting for interested parties should keep in mind when contemplating or continuing litigation. It also examines the use of estate caveats as a strategic tool in litigation and potential costs consequences of doing so. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.09Though the importance of dower rights has perhaps declined, as most married couples own their matrimonial home in joint tenancy, these rights continue to wield power and can have a variety of unintended and long-lasting consequences when the landowning spouse dies. This paper addresses the purpose of dower, the bundle of dower rights, ownership of land and dower, homesteads, consents and releases, life estates and their values, dispensing with consent, and practical problems. It also provides tips for a drafting solicitor. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.08This paper provides tips to support lawyers as they navigate less common situations throughout the application process, including “to be determined inventory” values, the irregularities section, recalling the application, service of notice to interested persons, other documents after the grant is issued, and withdrawal of counsel. It also provides examples of unusual circumstances and provides potential ways to address them. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.07Solicitors are obliged to address capacity issues when helping a client make a will. The test for capacity articulated in Banks v Goodfellow works for most situations. But what happens in unusual cases? Can lawyers (or judges) rely on the Banks test? This paper provides a framework to deal with capacity issues in non-standard transactions, both in lawyers’ offices during estate planning and in court during litigation. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.06This paper addresses less common or irregular assets that may exist in estate planning or an estate administration practice. Topics addressed include pets, firearms, shares in closely held corporations, life estates in the marital home, and valueless mines and minerals interests. The paper also includes precedent will clauses that could be used to address issues related to these assets. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.05Canvassing legislation, case law, and common practice, this comprehensive paper examines rectification, validation, and interpretation of non-compliant wills; evidence in estate matters, including s 85(2) of the Surrogate Rules, de bene esse evidence, admissibility of hearsay evidence in estate matters, and section 11 of the Alberta Evidence Act; accounting; settlement offers; and costs. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.04When wills and inter vivos transfers are disputed, with the donor or testator often dead, incapacitated, or infirm, the best and most objective evidence is almost always that of the drafting or advising solicitor. This paper examines situations when lawyers may be required to give evidence, potentially relevant types of privilege, waivers, and considerations when compelled or volunteering to give evidence. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
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62457.03Many wills and estates lawyers are familiar with basic tax concepts that can arise in an estate matter, such as the deemed disposition on death, spousal and other rollovers, and the tax differences between a testamentary trust and an inter vivos trust. Given their experience in matters before the Tax Court of Canada, the authors explore additional concepts including tax collection tools, tax litigation issues that might arise in a wills and estates matter, and the new reporting requirement for bare trusts. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s 2025 Refresher: Wills and Estates in Victoria, BC on April 10-12, 2025.
