McLellan Herbert, Barristers & Solicitors
McLellan Herbert, Barristers & Solicitors
Serving Clients’ Estate Planning And Litigation Needs
TOLL FREE 800-449-4858 LOCAL 604-901-5186

Vigorous Representation In Unfair Distribution Claims

Along with claims of disinheritance, the Wills, Estates and Succession Act allows children and the spouse of a decedent to bring claims against the estate if the distribution is unfair in all circumstances.

McLellan Herbert, Barristers & Solicitors has considerable experience bringing such unfair will distribution applications on behalf of clients throughout the Vancouver area, the North Shore, the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley.

Pursuing Relief For Beneficiaries

“Mom always liked you best,” Tom Smothers used to say, and she may have shown it by making large inter vivos transfers to his brother Dick. In such a scenario, when Mom dies, even though her will divides her estate equally, she has transferred so much to Dick outside the estate that only an unfairly small amount is left for Tom.

This would be a situation in which Tom could seek to vary the will under the Wills, Estates and Succession Act in British Columbia. It may also be possible to reverse the gifts to Dick if the transfers were not true gifts but were held in trust by Dick for the benefit of his mother’s estate and beneficiaries. Other will challenges could involve a situation in which a distribution, though substantial-looking, is not adequate to cover the person’s needs or one in which a child provided services to the estate (analogous to an unjust enrichment situation).

Consult With Our Lawyers

McLellan Herbert brings experience and empathy to clients facing the emotionally delicate task of making an unfair distribution application or reversing a disinheritance situation.

If you believe that a parent or spouse has treated you unfairly in his or her estate disposition, contact McLellan Herbert online or call 604-901-5186 or 800-449-4858 to set up an initial consultation. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. by appointment.