Beck Estate (Re)

Beck Estate (Re)

The Handwritten Record, being dated, signed by the deceased, recognized as her handwriting, delivered to the executor shortly before death and titled as a codicil, evidenced a fixed and final testamentary intention only as to the clear $10,000 gift to Adam Minshull; accordingly the court exercised its s.58 curative power to give that gift full effect as part of the will, but refused to cure the ambiguous interlineation on the Will or to treat other precatory statements as binding variations of the Will or as trusts.

Citation
2015 BCSC 676
Parties
Executor/applicant: Dietrich Robert Reimer; Deceased/testator: Celena Pearl Beck; Daughter/beneficiary: Arlene Minshull; Granddaughter/beneficiary: Wendy Reimer; Son/estranged/potential Beneficiary: Richard Reimer; Grandson/named Beneficiary: Adam Minshull
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
29 April 2015
Procedural Posture
Application Under Wills, Estate and Succession Act S.58 (curative Order) / Application for Determination of Testamentary Effect of Non‑compliant Documents
Outcome
Application granted in part and dismissed in part: $10,000 gift in Handwritten Record declared effective under s.58 WESA; interlineation on Will not given effect; executor's costs to be paid from estate.
Legal Topics
Curative Powers, Testamentary Intention, Codicil, Formal Validity Requirements, Costs
Source Language
English
Wills and Estates Succession Law Probate Civil Procedure Curative Powers Testamentary Intention Codicil Formal Validity Requirements +1 more

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Parties

Dietrich Robert Reimer

Executor/applicant

Celena Pearl Beck

Deceased/testator

Arlene Minshull

Daughter/beneficiary

Wendy Reimer

Granddaughter/beneficiary

Richard Reimer

Son/estranged/potential Beneficiary

Adam Minshull

Grandson/named Beneficiary

Procedural Posture

Application Under Wills, Estate and Succession Act S.58 (curative Order) / Application for Determination of Testamentary Effect of Non‑compliant Documents

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the handwritten interlineation on the Will represents testamentary intention under s.58 WESA
  2. 2 Whether the two‑page handwritten record (unsigned by witnesses) constitutes a codicil or testamentary disposition under s.58 WESA
  3. 3 Whether specific gift of $10,000 in the Handwritten Record is sufficiently deliberate and final to be given effect

Ratio Decidendi

The Handwritten Record, being dated, signed by the deceased, recognized as her handwriting, delivered to the executor shortly before death and titled as a codicil, evidenced a fixed and final testamentary intention only as to the clear $10,000 gift to Adam Minshull; accordingly the court exercised its s.58 curative power to give that gift full effect as part of the will, but refused to cure the ambiguous interlineation on the Will or to treat other precatory statements as binding variations of the Will or as trusts.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part and dismissed in part: $10,000 gift in Handwritten Record declared effective under s.58 WESA; interlineation on Will not given effect; executor's costs to be paid from estate.

Orders

  • Declare that the $10,000 gift to Adam Minshull in the Handwritten Record dated November 25, 2012 is fully effective as though made as part of the Will pursuant to s.58 WESA
  • Decline to exercise curative powers under s.58 WESA in respect of the interlineation on the Will ("Codicil Enclosed") and other precatory/ambiguous statements in the Handwritten Record