Suing over a Will (or estate with no Will) often is driven by the same hurt feelings, spitefulness, and sheer foolishness as are seen in the worst family cases.  But in estate cases, the parties are spending someone else’s money.

The recent case of Rawlins v. Rawlins https://canlii.ca/t/jwd4k is a perfect example.

Marguerite Rawlins died in March 2018 leaving three sons, aged 60, 58, and 56.  The executor of Marguerite’s Will was her eldest son, Charles.   Her son Doug had lived with her, rent-free, for years.

After Marguerite’s death , Doug continued to live in her house until at least March 2023, paying only the utilities – no rent and no property tax.  It’s a 2,278 ft2, 4-bedroom house.

The Will supposedly could not be found in the house Marguerite had shared with Doug. So Charles applied to handle the estate without a Will. Suddenly, Doug produced the Will.

Marguerite’s Will divided her estate (a house and some investments) equally between the three sons.  Doug sued, saying he had done more to look after Marguerite than her other 2 sons had.  He said he should get more than a third.

The only witnesses at trial were Marguerite’s 3 sons, her physician, and her financial advisor.

Justice Paul Riley accepted that Doug had looked after his parents from late 2012 until March 2018.  The Dad, Roy, died in 2016, and Marguerite in March 2018.  But Judge Riley determined he could not believe Doug in 6 key matters – all designed to make Doug look far better than he really was.  Judge Riley also did not trust the evidence of Marguerite’s youngest son.  He did accept as truthful her eldest son, Charles.

After Marguerite’s death, Charles tried three times to sell the house, so he could divide the money between the three sons, or hold it in trust waiting for the case to be worked out.  Each time Doug blocked the sale, arguing that he was entitled to the whole house.

The trial lasted 10 days in September and November 2022.  Judge Riley gave his decision 27 March 2023.  A delay 14 times the length of the trial is – sadly, and to non-lawyers unbelievably – pretty fast.  The average delay is about 34 times the trial length (that’s a topic for another blog). 

Judge Riley decided that the estate should be divided exactly as Marguerite said: 1/3 to each son.  He also decided that Doug’s caregiving services to his parents should be paid for.  Judge Riley awarded Doug an extra $115K.  So Doug got $115K more than 1/3, and his 2 brothers each got $38,333 less than a third.  But Doug also had to pay 2/3 of the property taxes from 2018 to 2022.  I’m guessing that’s about $5K each year.

Let’s do some math:

·       Assume the whole estate was $2.5 Million

·       BC Assessment searches show the property was valued at about $1.8 Million

·       Property taxes would be about $5K each year.  For 2018-2022 that totals about $25K.  Doug has to pay 2/3 of that – call it $18K

·       The investments would be $2.5 Million (total) - $1.8 Million (house) = about $700K

·       Doug’s share was 1/3 of $1.8 Million = $600K

o   Minus $18K

o   Plus 1/3 of the investments = about $235K

o   Plus the extra $115K for caregiving

·       Total = about $932K

·       Plus (maybe) court costs estimated at $25K. Courts often do not award costs in estate cases.

·       Grand Total: about $957K — or less.

From that, Doug will have to pay his lawyer.  For a 10-day trial, I estimate this will run about $100K.  The two pre-trial applications to sell the house: add another $10K - $20K.  Throw in a couple of days of pre-trial oral discovery: another $10K - $20K.   Call Doug’s legal bill around $130K.  So, Doug will come out with – at most – about $827K.  The estate had started out valued at $2.5 Million.  If he had accepted the Will, Doug would have received about $833K.  By spending 5 years suing, he most likely lost about $6K. Maybe more. Estate lawyers often take a third or more of what they get their client.

The value of the property likely peaked in 2022.  Likely, it will sell for less than $1.8 Million.  The most likely result is that Doug will end up with significantly less than if he’d just accepted the Will.

Nice way to burn down your own house out of spite!

Too bad the boys couldn’t negotiate a sensible deal. If only they had come to one of our certified mediators here at Clear Legal…

At Clear Legal we have been putting out fires since 1990. Call us before you strike that match!