A Vancouver man has proven in court that he deserves half interest in a million dollar home, despite having separated from his wife forty-four years ago. The case of Johnston v. Johnston Estate, illustrates the importance of having a proper, and timely, separation agreement. David Johnston and his then wife,…
Ex lover of murder victim claims $50 million estate. Xuan Yang claims her baby daughter is the biological child of Gang Yuan whose body was dismembered. B.C. Supreme Court has awarded a Beijing woman the right to have a paternity test from her ex-lover’s remains. The woman, Xuan Yang, contends…
The Wills Variation Act means your Will may not, in fact, be the last word. Vancouver siblings found their share of their inheritance reduced after their late father’s second wife challenged will. A recent Wills Variation case has opened the door wider for challenging Wills. The Wills Variation Act allows family…
In a shocking case of elder abuse, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, aged 92, was cheated out of millions in art and cash. Francois-Marie Banier, a celebrity photographer who befriended the richest woman in France, was found guilty of “abuse of weakness” and money laundering. He was sentenced to 3 years in…
What happens when you leave your Estate to be preserved for “historical purposes” and have no heirs? The answer is a mess. Now the issue of the Binning Estate has ended up in the BC Court of Appeal. Jessie Binning, widow to famed Canadian artist Bertram Binning, no doubt had…
Common Law relationships and intestate Estates. Nancy Chen proved to the Supreme Court of British Columbia that she was the common law spouse of Philip Richardson, and was awarded his estate on November 19, 2014. Ms. Chen’s status as a common-law spouse was disputed by the deceased man’s brother, Steve…