When does the limitation period start running for a challenge to the validity of a will? A recent decision of the Superior Court of Justice dealt with this very question and found that the limitation period may continue to run even after two years from the date of death of the testator.
In the decision of Shannon v. Habrovsky, 2018 ONSC 6593, the testator prepared a will in 2006 that he provided to his daughter following its execution. However, the testator subsequently executed a will in 2007 (the “2007 Will”) that essentially disinherited his daughter to the benefit of his son. The daughter was not provided with a copy of this will, but the daughter was aware that the testator attended a lawyer’s office in 2007 and signed something. The testator died on November 15, 2014 and the daughter was provided a copy of the 2007 Will in January 2015 when her brother and uncle applied for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee in respect of the 2007 Will.
The daughter commenced a challenge to the validity of the will on December 23, 2016. This claim was commenced more than two years after the testator’s date of death, but less than two years from when the daughter received a copy of the 2007 Will in January 2015. As a preliminary issue, Justice Wilton-Siegel determined the issue of whether the limitation period on bringing a challenge to the validity of the 2007 Will had expired.
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