As usual, the March Brown Bag Lunch did not disappoint. Members of the Trusts and Estates Section had a number of interesting topics to discuss, and participants kindly shared their valuable thoughts and knowledge.
The March meeting began with an announcement by one BBLer that the Estates Sub-Committee of the Civil Rules Committee would be circulating a package outlining some additional proposed changes to the Rules and forms. The additional changes would likely be more in the nature of tweaks than any further substantial changes. Any updates that are shared at future Brown Bag Lunches will also be shared here.
One of the attendees asked for input regarding a situation where the surviving spouse had been named as estate trustee of her deceased’s husband’s estate, but was contemplating making a Family Law Act election or bringing a dependant’s support claim. BBLers agreed that either way, the spouse could not continue acting as estate trustee. However, the spouse refused to commit to a course of action and intended to assume the role of estate trustee, rather than renounce and allow the trusteeship to pass to the deceased’s children from a prior marriage. The children were concerned that the spouse would abuse her position in some way before ultimately deciding whether/which claim to bring against the estate. Members shared ideas for how this issue could be dealt with, but agreed it seemed to be a challenging situation.
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