Canadian Lawyer

March 2011

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her lavish standard of living; the value of the assets passing to the husband out- side of the estate and his independent wealth; what the mother knew about her daughter's comparatively inferior financial circumstances; the significant financial setback brought on by the demise of the daughter's business; that the daughter would not inherit from her Emily L. Clough and Andrew S. MacKay. The day before Lougheed's death from cancer on May 24, 2007, a junior lawyer visited Lougheed to review her will and she removed the properties as they had been disposed of, in some cases already given to the daughter. The lawyer advised that what seemed to be left under s. 3.3.1 did not seem to be much and Wilson had the right to contest the will. (The daughter was not included in the will of the step- father who had adopted her and he would subsequently inherit the bulk of Lougheed's estate.) As set out in the rea- sons for judgment: "The lawyer testified that Norma 'understood that and she was fine with that.'" Ballance's January decision to increase the inheritance was based on a number of factors as MacKay and Clough were able to bring forward tes- timony that showed Wilson had a sup- portive and loving relationship with her mother as did Wilson's grandchildren. The mother had been generous with gifts to the daughter and grandchil- dren. "The court found that the mother's will fell below the moral obligation of a contemporary judicious parent in all of the objectively assessed circumstances," said a press release issued by Alexander Holburn. Those factors considered were: the abundance of the mother's wealth and Read at . www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com M A RCH 2011 13 ntitled-1 1 2/15/11 12:44:19 PM stepfather's will; the mother's promise to pay for her grandchildren's education; the daughter's bona fide expectations that she would be securely provided for by her mother; the devotion and love showed by the daughter to her mother; and the value of the testamentary gifts to the daughter. — JS c /10/18/2010B o W v.bc.c ourts.g ilson S C v.a/jdb-txt/ L C C ougheed1868c S or1.htm

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