Is a beneficiary entitled to production of all communications between legal counsel and the executrix?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Chang v. Lai Estate, 2014 BCSC 128 (CanLII):

The beneficiary is not, however, entitled to production of all communications between legal counsel and the executrix. Where there is an adversarial relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary, there is no “joint interest” that compels disclosure of communications that would normally be protected by solicitor-client privilege. As Lederman J. says in Re Ballard Estate at p. 354: … there is no need to protect the solicitor-client communication from disclosure to those very persons who are claiming under the estate. The communications remain privileged as against third parties who are strangers or are in conflict with the estate, but as was stated in Stewart v. Walker, supra, not those who are claiming under the estate. And that is because the trustee and beneficiary have a joint interest…

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