Can a trustee who is in an adversarial position towards a co-trustee or beneficiary be removed from charge of the trust property?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Cabrera v. Coughlan, 2022 ONSC 1087 (CanLII):

As Justice Myers held in Mayer v. Rubin, 2017 ONSC 3498, at para. 36: “... it is in the interests of all beneficiaries that the assets of the estate be immunized from the tactics employed by litigating parties. The court must protect the level playing field. Neither side should be able to use their control over the estate to benefit themselves or to prejudice the other. It is a simple inference that a trustee who is in an adversarial position towards a co-trustee or a beneficiary should not normally be left in charge of trust property. Simple prudence calls for the temporary replacement of a trustee who is in an adversarial position with a co-trustee or a beneficiary. It is not an insult to anyone's integrity to understand that conflicts of interest are insidious. Conflicts of interest play havoc with peoples' judgment of their own capacity to maintain neutrality and a fiduciary stance ...”

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