Wingate v. Laurier Life Insurance Company
Because the Wingates were never named beneficiaries during the policy's currency and they reassigned ownership back to Mr. Moon, he was entitled to designate Jennifer Moon as an irrevocable beneficiary; the appellants' declaration and trust agreements were overtaken by events and did not establish entitlement.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- C42632
- Parties
- Appellant: Mary Wingate (also known as Mary Robinson); Appellant: Andrew Wingate; Appellant: Beverly Maureen Crouch; Respondent: Laurier Life Insurance Company; Respondent: Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company (carrying on business as Desjardins Financial Security); Respondent: Breckles Life Insurance Agencies and Financial Services Inc.; Respondent: The Estate of David George Moon; Respondent: Jennifer Moon
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 15 June 2005
- Procedural Posture
- Civil / Appeal to Court of Appeal for Ontario From Superior Court of Justice Order Dated October 29, 2004
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Beneficiary Designation, Policy Ownership and Assignment, Irrevocable Beneficiary, Declaration and Trust Agreements, Costs
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Mary Wingate (also known as Mary Robinson)
Appellant
Andrew Wingate
Appellant
Beverly Maureen Crouch
Appellant
Laurier Life Insurance Company
Respondent
Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company (carrying on business as Desjardins Financial Security)
Respondent
Breckles Life Insurance Agencies and Financial Services Inc.
Respondent
The Estate of David George Moon
Respondent
Jennifer Moon
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Civil / Appeal to Court of Appeal for Ontario From Superior Court of Justice Order Dated October 29, 2004
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the appellants were beneficiaries during the currency of the policy
- 2 Whether the appellants' assignment of policy ownership back to Mr. Moon permitted him to designate an irrevocable beneficiary
- 3 Whether the appellants' declaration and trust agreements affected the beneficiary designation
Ratio Decidendi
Because the Wingates were never named beneficiaries during the policy's currency and they reassigned ownership back to Mr. Moon, he was entitled to designate Jennifer Moon as an irrevocable beneficiary; the appellants' declaration and trust agreements were overtaken by events and did not establish entitlement.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed
Orders
- Appeal against Laurier Life Insurance Company and Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company dismissed as abandoned.
- Appeal dismissed; costs to the respondent (Jennifer Moon) on a partial indemnity basis fixed at $10,000 inclusive of G.S.T. and disbursements.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Wingate v. Laurier Life Insurance Company Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2005-06-15 Docket numbers C42632 Judges Moldaver, Michael James; Armstrong, Robert Patrick; Juriansz, Russell G. Subject Civil Decision Content DATE: 20050615 DOCKET: C42632 COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO RE: MARY WINGATE also known as MARY ROBINSON, ANDREW WINGATE and BEVERLY MAUREEN CROUCH (Appellants) – and LAURIER LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, DESJARDINS FINANCIAL SECURITY LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY carrying on business under the firm name and style DESJARDINS FINANCIAL SECURITY, BRECKLES LIFE INSURANCE AGENCIES AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INC., THE ESTATE OF DAVID GEORGE MOON and JENNIFER MOON (Respondents) BEFORE: MOLDAVER, ARMSTRONG and JURIANSZ JJ.A. COUNSEL: Patrick Di Monte for the appellants Lisbeth Hollaman for the respondent Jennifer Moon HEARD: June 14, 2005 On appeal from the order of Justice Wailan Low of the Superior Court of Justice dated October 29, 2004. APPEAL BOOK ENDORSEMENT [1] Appeal against Laurier Life Insurance Company and Desjardins Financial Security Life Insurance Company dismissed as abandoned. [2] In our view, Justice Low came to the correct conclusion on the record before her. At no point during the currency of the policy were the Wingates ever named as beneficiaries, including the five-year timeframe in which they owned the policy. They chose, for whatever reason, to assign the ownership of the policy back to Mr. Moon and in the circumstances, it was open to him to designate Ms. Jennifer Moon as the irrevocable beneficiary. In our view, without deciding the appellant’s “declaration” and “trust” agreements, they are overtaken by the events which occurred after the policy came into existence. [3] Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed with costs to the respondent on a partial indemnity basis fixed at $10,000 inclusive of G.S.T. and disbursements.