Members of the OBA’s Trusts and Estates Law Section gathered virtually on February 15, 2022 for another interesting and helpful Brown Bag Lunch discussion.
The discussion began with a question by one BBLer regarding procedural considerations when a beneficiary or beneficiaries are discovered after a certificate of appointment of estate trustee has been applied for or issued. Attendees shared their views that if the certificate had not yet been issued the newly discovered beneficiary(ies) should be served with the application, and an amended affidavit of service should be filed with the court. The discussion led to a consideration of when the Office of the Children’s Lawyer should be served with an application for a certificate of appointment, and the challenges of locating unknown or missing beneficiaries or heirs.
Participants moved on to a conversation about the new probate forms and provisions of the Succession Law Reform Act, and some difficulties that have arisen. One BBLer noted that there is some confusion with respect to the new provisions and updates to the forms dealing with separated spouses in that it would appear that even if spouses had been separated for, say, 10 years, they would still need to be separated for a period of three years starting after the date the new legislation came into effect, namely January 1, 2022. Further, the separation appears to have to begin after January 1, 2022, which led one BBLer to wonder whether spouses who had previously been separated would have to reconcile and re-separate after the January 1 date. Attendees didn’t have an answer to this issue; it may be a wrinkle that will need to be worked out with the Ministry of the Attorney General.
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