When will a testatrix make a claim for equal share of a parent's estate?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Gray v. Gray, 2012 BCSC 1310 (CanLII):
In Ryan v. Delahaye, Justice Smith stated, at para. 67: The adequacy of a moral claim is not easy to assess, especially where a child has not been disentitled, but has received something less than her sibling. In the absence of express reasons for an unequal distribution, contemporary standards create a reasonable expectation of children sharing equally in a parent’s estate. However no legal obligation exists to do so. The court must be cautious that it does not use the legislation to rewrite the will and thereby disregard the testatrix’s motives or reasons in distributing her estate in the manner she has chosen.
In McBride v. Voth, Justice Ballance noted that while equal treatment of independent adult children will generally be considered fair and equitable, equal treatment is not always required in order to make adequate, fair and equitable provision.
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