The April Brown Bag Lunch meeting was held on the 16th of the month. As usual, members of the OBA Trusts and Estates Section gathered to discuss various issues that have come up in our practices recently.
The meeting kicked off with an interesting discussion about the process for making a moral claim under section 5 of the Escheats Act, 2015. One BBLer was dealing with a situation where two spouses had died, one shortly after the other, with the second to die leaving no heirs. The first to die, however, did have a surviving family member, who understandably did not want the estate to escheat to the Crown. Participants discussed some options that may be available to address the situation. The BBLer who raised the issue promised to update us if they went ahead with making a moral claim under the Escheats Act.
Next, attendees discussed the timing for a resignation and passing of accounts of two estate trustees where there is a continuing administration. Some suggested having the estate trustees resign before passing their accounts, so as to avoid a second, stub period accounting. Some also noted that if the Will in question allows a replacement trustee to be appointed by a current trustee, an application to appoint a succeeding estate trustee may not be necessary.
One BBLer then shared a recent experience dealing with physical share certificates for several corporations trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, which were owned by the estate of a person who had died in the United Kingdom. The BBLer was surprised to find that, at least in order to deal with those particular corporations and transfer agents, it was not necessary to reseal the UK probate in Ontario. One attendee mentioned that there may be a maximum value that some transfer agents will allow without probate, and one noted that an indemnity fee may be required (which may be cheaper than the cost of a resealing in any event).
The next two Brown Bag Lunches will be held on May 21 and June 18, 2024. These will also be the final two meetings for the 2023-2024 OBA term. Meetings will then resume in September. Anyone needing Zoom details or other information about the Brown Bag Lunch meetings should contact the moderator, Rebecca Kennedy, at rkennedy@agbllp.com.
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