. Beirat v. Khiyal [standing to advance trust claims]
In Beirat v. Khiyal (Ont CA, 2024) the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed an appeal, here of an interlocutory order that limited the issues to be addressed at trial ["limited to the determination of the assets of the estate at the date of death"].
Here the court commented on the nature of a trust claim, here in an estates context:
[14] First, no determination was made whether the deceased died intestate or whether the respondent or the deceased’s adult daughter could act as the deceased’s estate representative. Without an estate representative advancing a trust claim against the appellant on behalf of the estate, the motion judge erred in relying on trust principles to conclude that the deceased's estate had an ownership interest in any asset then in the name of the appellant. Trust claims are personal to the individual. A non-titled spouse cannot assert a trust claim against a third party on behalf of a spouse for equalization purposes: Karatzoglou v. Commisso, 2023 ONCA 738, 488 D.L.R. (4th) 755, at paras. 22-25. Explained differently, if the October 2018 will is valid and the appellant is the deceased’s lawful estate trustee and heir, the respondent has no standing to advance a trust claim on his estate’s behalf against the appellant.[4]
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