League and Williams Lawyers

Tag: stepchildren

  • Stepchildren Challenging a Will: Estoppel if Your Biological Parent Gifts Their Estate to Your Stepparent

    Stepchildren Challenging a Will: Estoppel if Your Biological Parent Gifts Their Estate to Your Stepparent

    In BC, courts can rule a will unfair and have it revised – or varied – if it does not make ‘adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support’ of the will-maker’s spouse or children. The Courts have the authority to prevent the disinheritance of spouses and children of will writers without sufficient cause. But, what about stepchildren? According to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), a child is ‘a natural birth child or a legally adopted child’. Unless the stepparent has adopted a stepchild, WESA does not recognize them as a child.

    It’s clear that a stepchild cannot apply to vary their stepparent’s will under WESA. However, there are other ways that stepchildren can challenge a will. These scenarios can arise if:

    Estoppel for Your Biological Parent Gifting Their Estate to Your Stepparent

    If a stepparent unfairly disinherits them, stepchildren lack the legal standing to directly request a variation of the will

    Estoppel is a legal argument used to prevent a party from breaking a promise to benefit themselves. In the context of stepchildren challenging a will, estoppel can stop a stepparent from receiving more of an estate than their spouse intended. A parent might agree to gift the entirety of their estate to a spouse because the spouse promised to include their stepchild in their own will. If the spouse later changes their will to contradict their promise, the party impacted by the broken promise may be able to make an estoppel claim against the stepparent’s estate.

    In order to have a successful claim for proprietary estoppel, the following must be present:

    • A promise is made,
    • That promise is reasonably relied on,
    • That promise is unfairly broken; and,
    • This causes detriment.

    An Example of Proprietary Estoppel

    Let’s examine a scenario that illustrates how a proprietary estoppel claim may arise. Chris is a man who has a daughter named Deb. He marries Jane, who becomes Deb’s stepmother. Chris plans to leave his estate to Jane if she outlives him, and then wants the property to pass to Deb once Jane and Chris have passed away. Chris gifts the whole estate to Jane because she has promised to include Deb in her own will. This should ensure that Deb will inherit indirectly from Chris’s estate. Deb trusts this pledge and relies on it reasonably. She chooses not to dispute the gift, because she doesn’t expect to be disinherited. Following Chris’s death, Jane breaks her promise, changing her will to pass the entire estate to her own child. Deb can no longer dispute the gift from her father’s estate, since 180 days have elapsed since his passing.

    However, Deb may have a valid claim to receive the assets that were passed from Chris’s estate to Jane. If she can demonstrate the presence of the components of a proprietary estoppel claim in her circumstances, the Courts may vary Chris’s will.

    Children and adults who have relied on a promise from their stepparent concerning their natural parent’s estate and suffered resulting loss should speak to an experienced estate lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced estate lawyer can support you in making a claim to vary a will.

    Have a question about estate disputes or a different legal topic? Contact us for a free consultation. Reach us via phone at 250-888-0002, or via email at info@leaguelaw.com.

  • Stepchildren Challenging a Will: Assets in Joint Tenancy Held in Resulting Trust

    Stepchildren Challenging a Will: Assets in Joint Tenancy Held in Resulting Trust

    In BC, courts can rule a will unfair and have it revised – or varied – if it doesn’t make ‘adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support’ of the will-maker’s spouse or children. This ensures that spouses and children aren’t disinherited without sufficient cause. But, what about stepchildren? According to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), a child is a natural birth child or an adopted child. A stepchild is not a child under WESA, unless they have been adopted by their stepparent.

    It’s clear that stepchildren can’t vary a stepparent’s will under WESA. However, there are ways that stepchildren can challenge a will. These scenarios can arise if:

    Assets in Joint Tenancy Held in Resulting Trust

    Stepchildren cannot directly vary a stepparent’s will if they’re unfairly disinherited.

    Houses are usually the largest asset in a person’s estate. Homeowners want to be sure that their homes are distributed as intended when they pass away. Joint tenancy is typically used by couples to ensure that the surviving spouse will receive the home, without having to go through probate (the process that ensures a will is real). Joint tenancy agreements can also help to maintain continuity in the life of the surviving spouse following the death of their partner.

    Agreements with rights of survivorship can allow the surviving partner full rights to the property and accounts belonging to their partner – as specified in their agreement- following their death. In joint tenancy agreements, disputes can ensue over whether the property contributed by one partner to the joint tenancy was a gift, or if the property was to be held in a resulting trust following their death. In BC, there is a presumption of resulting trust – the presumption that a transfer of property is not a gift.

    If a property is held in resulting trust by someone, it does not necessarily mean that they own the property. Rather, that they hold the legal title of the property for the benefit of the owner. On the other hand, if the property was given as a gift, they do own the property. Unfortunately, surviving spouses sometimes try to “steal” their spouse’s estate by claiming that it was given as a gift rather than to be held in resulting trust.

    Consider This Example

    Let’s look at how this might apply to a stepchild who has been unfairly disinherited. As an example a man, Alex, has a son, Ben. Alex is married to a woman, Emily, who is Ben’s stepmother. Before Alex dies, he transfers joint tenancy to Emily, intending for her to hold his estate in resulting trust so he can provide for her if she survives him. Upon Emily’s and Alex’s death, Alex wants the remainder of his estate to be given to Ben. After Alex dies, Emily decides to remarry and give Alex’s estate to her new husband. As a result, Ben does not receive any part of his biological father’s estate.

    Ben decides to bring this case to court because he believes he was unfairly disinherited. According to the presumption of resulting trust, Emily’s trustee must be able to prove that Alex intended to give the estate as a gift to Emily, not to be held in resulting trust. If Emily’s trustee cannot do this, Ben should receive the estate as intended by his father.

    When there is a transfer of ownership using a joint tenancy agreement, stepchildren should still expect to receive their inheritance from their biological parents. If you are a stepchild who was disinherited by a stepparent through a joint tenancy held in resulting trust, you could be eligible to challenge the will. Contact an experienced estate lawyer to ensure that you receive your fair share of the estate.

    Have a question about estate disputes or a different legal topic? Contact us for a free consultation. Reach us via phone at 250-888-0002, or via email at info@leaguelaw.com.

  • Stepchildren Challenging a Will: Suing on Promises Broken Under Mutual Wills

    Stepchildren Challenging a Will: Suing on Promises Broken Under Mutual Wills

    In BC, courts can rule a will unfair and vary it if it doesn’t make adequate provision for the proper maintenance and support of the will-maker’s spouse or children. This ensures that individuals can’t disinherit spouses and children without sufficient cause. But what about stepchildren? According to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), a child is a natural birth child or a legally adopted child. WESA does not consider a stepchild as a child unless the stepparent legally adopts them.

    Stepchildren can’t vary a stepparent’s will under WESA. However, there are ways that stepchildren can challenge a will. These scenarios can arise if:

    Suing on Promises Broken Under Mutual Wills

    Spouses create a mutual will to grant the surviving spouse the majority or entirety of their estate. After both spouses pass away, the estate divides among their beneficiaries based on the will’s terms. When stepchildren are part of the equation (from past or future relationships after a spouse’s passing), creating a mutual will becomes crucial. The primary purpose is to provide for a spouse while ensuring fair distribution of the estate to their own children in the future. If one of the spouses in a mutual will agreement passes away, the surviving spouse can’t alter the will. This prevents stepchildren from being unfairly disinherited if their birthparent dies before their step-parent.

    An Example From Case Law

    Unfairly disinherited stepchildren cannot directly file a wills variation claim against their stepparent’s will.

    A case in White Rock, BC, Wright Estate (Re) 2012, highlights the ability of the courts to give stepchildren the proper inheritance when there is a promise broken under a mutual will. A married couple, both of whom had children from a past marriage, wrote a mutual will together. Neither of them chose to adopt the other’s children. The husband, who was significantly wealthier than his wife, specified that he would provide for his wife for the entirety of her life, give a small portion of the estate to her children, and give the remainder of his estate to his own children. The intention being that his children would be receiving a large majority of his estate.

    When the husband passed away, his spouse changed the will, electing to give the estate to her children, and nothing to her stepchildren. This directly contradicted the mutual will that they agreed to while he was alive. The stepchildren sued her for the promise broken under their mutual will. At the end of the summary trial, the judge ruled that this was a broken promise, and the challenge was successful. The children were entitled to the share of the estate that their father had intended.

    Reminders for Will Writers

    This case makes it clear that stepchildren can successfully challenge a will in BC in some circumstances. When a stepchild’s biological parent creates a mutual will, their parent’s requests and intentions will be respected. If you are a stepchild and you believe a promise was broken under a mutual will, contact an experienced estate lawyer today.

    Have a question about estate disputes or a different legal topic? Contact us for a free consultation. Reach us via phone at 250-888-0002, or via email at info@leaguelaw.com.