Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Bell v Bell, 2023 SKCA 53

The recent Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision in Bell v Bell, 2023 SKCA 53 upheld a Court of Queen’s Bench decision, in which a Chambers Judge had dismissed a will challenge.

Factual background:

In his application in Queen’s Bench, Wayne Bell had challenged the will of his mother, Laurette Bell. Wayne had argued that Laurette lacked testamentary capacity and was unduly influenced at the time of her will’s execution on January 8, 2020 (“Will”). The Will effectively excluded Wayne and his immediate family as beneficiaries to Laurette’s estate.

The relevant factual background before the Court included the below:

  1. Several years before Laurette’s death, a rift arose between her, Wayne, and his siblings, primarily over two matters. The first matter involved an allegation that Wayne misused business funds and assets for his and his immediate family’s personal use.  The second matter was a conflict between Laurette and Wayne’s daughter Dawn, over an allegedly unpaid loan owed by Dawn to Laurette. Dawn asserted that she had repaid the loan in full in October of 2004. However, Laurette remained doubtful as to whether it had in fact been repaid;
  2. In January of 2020, Laurette executed the Will, at age 87. She specified that Wayne and his children were not to receive any portion of her estate. She did so with the assistance of lawyer Wayne Bernakevitch, who noted no issues with Laurette’s testamentary capacity. At the same time, she raised concerns with Mr. Bernakevitch about Wayne’s conduct in relation to the business;
  3. Laurette had executed a different will approximately four months prior, also with Mr. Bernakevitch’s assistance;
  4. In his evidence relating to capacity, Wayne noted that Laurette was very elderly, and was increasingly forgetful, and had on one occasion, just months prior to the execution of the Will, become confused and disoriented after attending a coin shop;
  5. On the issue of undue influence, Wayne asserted that his brothers had made disparaging comments about him to Laurette, specifically alleging that he misused business funds and assets. He argued this was evidence that Laurette was unduly influenced;
  6. However, the evidence of Wayne’s siblings was that Laurette was capable and independent until shortly before her death in August of 2021. Her son Garth had moved in with Laurette in December of 2020, and remained until she moved into a care home and subsequently palliative care. Garth deposed that Laurette made all her own decisions, booked her own appointments, paid all her bills, and expressed her wishes clearly until the date of her death;
  7. The lawyer who drafted the Will, Mr. Bernakevitch, deposed that, upon execution of the Will, he made note that Laurette was “quite competent and quite adamant about” her exclusion of Wayne and his immediate family from the Will. Mr. Bernakevitch noted that when Dawn raised in a letter to Mr. Bernakevitch the issue of undue influence in relation to the alleged loan, Mr. Bernakevitch recorded in his notes “undue influence on her is unfair to her. She is very capable and doing this of her own initiative”. Bernakevitch further averred that Laurette was concerned about Wayne misusing business funds, as well as the debt she believed Dawn owed her.
Issues:

In his appeal, Wayne focused on two grounds of appeal:

  1. Did the Chambers judge err by improperly weighing controverted evidence and making credibility findings?
  2. Did the Chambers judge err by misapprehending the evidence or disregarding material evidence?
Decision of the Court of Appeal:

Issue 1: Did the Chambers judge err by improperly weighing controverted evidence and making credibility findings?

On the first issue, the Court of Appeal held that the Chambers Judge had been careful not to determine contested points, including whether the loan to Dawn had in fact been repaid, or whether Wayne had misappropriated assets and funds of the business. Rather, the Chambers Judge remained focused on whether Wayne had adduced some evidence that could negate testamentary capacity or tend to prove undue influence.

Ultimately, the Court of Appeal concluded that at no point in his analysis did the Chambers Judge overstep the confines of this stage one evidentiary focus.

Basically, the Chambers Judge assessed Wayne’s allegations in their most favourable light, but held that such allegations still did not amount to “any evidence which, if accepted at trial, would tend to negate testamentary capacity or establish undue influence”.

The Court of Appeal appeared to agree that the below allegations by Wayne simply did not raise a genuine issue of capacity or undue influence:

  1. Regarding the loan to Dawn, even if Laurette was mistaken in the belief that the loan was still outstanding, it did not lead to the conclusion that Laurette was not competent to execute the Will. The Chambers Judge concluded that many people forget details of the past, and the fact that one may have been mistaken does not mean that a person is incompetent or not capable of executing a valid will;
  2. Even if Laurette had forgotten some names and may have gone in the wrong direction after leaving a coin shop on one or more occasions, this was not evidence of a lack of testamentary capacity (i.e. capacity about one’s property and intentions for it);
  3. Even if Laurette was wrong about her presumptions and perceptions about Wayne, there was no evidence that there was influence that would have overburdened her will.

Ultimately, the Court of Appeal agreed that the Chambers Judge had been faced with no conflicting evidence on relevant points. There was uncontroverted relevant first-hand information from all of Laurette’s children (except for Wayne and Melanie). Moreover, Bernakevitch, a senior lawyer, had met with Laurette and had found her to have testamentary capacity.

In short, the Chambers Judge had properly been careful not to weigh conflicting evidence or make findings of credibility. The Chambers Judge had enough uncontroverted evidence before him, to enable him to “weed” out a claim that did not have sufficient merit to proceed to trial.

Issue 2: Did the Chambers Judge err by misapprehending the evidence or disregarding material evidence?

Further, Wayne argued that the Chambers judge had disregarded material evidence which demonstrated “suspicious circumstances”, and called for a trial. Wayne pointed to the following evidence:

  1. Laurette had executed a different will four months prior in 2019;
  2. Wayne’s brothers admitted to discussing with Laurette allegations that Wayne misused business assets and funds prior to the execution of the Will;
  3. Bernakevitch was aware of the Bell family conflict but asked no specific questions to assess undue influence or Laurette’s competency at the time of the Will; and
  4. Wayne deposed to a conversation in which Laurette’s daughter, Linda, had expressed concerns with Laurette’s mental state, and that Linda did not specifically deny having that conversation in her affidavit (despite her other comments that she viewed her mother to be capable and competent until her death).

Wayne essentially argued that these facts were suspicious, and called for cross-examination (which a trial process would offer).

However, the Court of Appeal held that the Chambers Judge had not disregarded material evidence. The Chambers Judge was alive to all material evidence, but had properly concluded that such evidence did not negate testamentary capacity or supporting undue influence.

For example, the Court of Appeal simply did not find it suspicious that Laurette had executed two wills in the space of approximately four months. The Court of Appeal also rejected the argument that Mr. Bernakevitch should have questioned Laurette more rigorously about her family dynamics at the time of the execution of the Will. Such an argument did not properly reflect that the evidentiary onus here was on Wayne alone.

As such, there had been no requirement in law for cross-examination to reconcile all collateral and narrative aspects of both sides. On the crucial points – that of testamentary capacity and voluntariness at the making of the Will – the Chambers Judge had properly concluded that the firsthand evidence was uncontroverted.

Conclusion:

Bell is an example of a case where the challenger no doubt had genuine concerns about what caused his mother to remove him from the Will. Such is a natural emotional reaction. That said, Bell reminds us that circumstantial concerns about unexplained actions by a testator (even if the testator’s actions are shocking to a disinherited family member) are not the same as firsthand evidence of incapacity or actual coercion on the date of the signing of the Will.

Courts will generally require firsthand evidence of incapacity, or of coercion before the Court will subject a Will to the expense and delay of trial. If a challenger adduces evidence which is more circumstantial, than firsthand, the Courts may find that there is no genuine issue.

Contacting a Lawyer on this Subject

James Steele’s preferred practise area is estate litigation, including will challenges, executor disputes, power of attorney issues, etc. Contact James Steele at 1-306-933-1338 or [email protected]. The above is for general information only, and not legal advice. Parties should always seek legal advice prior to taking action in specific situations.

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The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Vaudreuil v Madson is an example of a testamentary document in which a trial was required to determine its validity. This was because of contradictory evidence which had been adduced as to require findings of credibility at trial.

Factual background:

A brief summary of the factual background in Vaudreuil was as follows:

  1. Paul Shlahetka (“Deceased”) died on August 6, 2021, at 91 years of age. The Deceased had six siblings, all of whom predeceased him.  His sister, Annie, died in 2019. Annie had three daughters, Adeline McPhee, Ms. Vaudreuil, and Ms. Nehring.
  2. The applicant, Gloria Vaudreuil, and her sister, Irene Nehring (“Applicants”), were nieces of the Deceased. They filed a caveat against the Estate of Paul Shlahetka on August 12, 2021 preventing anything from being done in relation to the Estate. They suggested that the valid testamentary document for the Deceased was a Last Will and Testament dated May 7, 2014, prepared by the Tourney Law Office in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
  3. In contrast, the respondents, Irvin Madson and Cynthia Madson (“Respondents”), contended that a handwritten document dated July 8, 2016 (“July 8 Document”) was the valid holographic last will and testament of the Deceased. The Respondents operated their own farm in the District of Springside. They were neighbours and friends of the Deceased.
Evidence of capacity in relation to the Deceased:
  1. There was contrasting evidence filed by the parties, in relation to the capacity of the Deceased, from 2015 onwards.
  2. The Court found, for example, that on or about February 9, 2015, the Deceased, while driving his car on a rural road near his home, hit the ditch, and became stuck in the snow. He was found by the RCMP who returned him to his home. The next day, the Deceased was driving his truck, ostensibly to retrieve his car, and again hit the ditch. He tried to dig himself out of the snow using his hands in -25-degree weather. The RCMP found him by his truck, disoriented and with his hands frostbitten by the cold. The RCMP took him to Yorkton Hospital where the Deceased was admitted for treatment.
  3. While in hospital, the Deceased remained disoriented to time, place and person. His attending family physician, Dr. Oduntan, identified that the Deceased had an extensive family history of dementia and a past history of confusion and memory loss in 2009, but that his memory loss in 2015 had become more significant.
  4. Oduntan performed three separate Mini-Mental State Examinations on the Deceased between February 10, 2015 and March 5, 2015. The Deceased scored very low on each one. He was diagnosed with advanced dementia and a certificate of incompetence was forwarded to the Public Guardian and Trustee.
  5. The Deceased was placed at Canora Gateway Lodge where he continued to reside until his death on August 6, 2021.
  6. On June 28, 2016, the Madsons removed the Deceased from the Gateway Lodge and took him to see a Yorkton lawyer. This lawyer indicated he thought the Deceased  had capacity to do a will, although the notes he made of this attendance appear to have been limited in scope.
  7. Apparently, on July 8, 2016 the Deceased remained concerned about re-doing his will. Mr. Madson took the Deceased  to his own home and sat him down at his kitchen table with a pen and a piece of paper. Mrs. Madson was not present.
  8. The Chambers Judge described what happened next, as follows:

53]     …Mr. Madson said, based on what [the Yorkton lawyer] had advised with respect to a holographic will, that he told Mr. Shlahetka to write down what he wanted and left him on his own for about 20 minutes. During that time, he said Mr. Shlahetka wrote down the first part of the July 8 Document. Mr. Madson averred Mr. Shlahetka then called him back, but when he looked at what Mr. Shlahetka had written Mr. Madson said he told him “it was not really a will but more of a power of attorney” and it “did not really say what was to be done with his estate after he died”. Mr. Madson averred he then left Mr. Shlahetka for a further 30 minutes “or so” during which time Mr. Shlahetka wrote out the second part of the July 8 Document. Mr. Madson averred that when Mr. Shlahetka called him back in, he said words to the effect “now take this and rub it under Gloria’s nose”. Mr. Madson further averred: “He knew that at this point that Gloria was trying to get guardianship over him and felt she was trying to get his property, and was very unhappy about that”. Mr. Madson averred that after doing the July 8 Document Mr. Shlahetka was very content and felt everything was looked after.

Issue:

A key issue in Vaudreuil was whether proof on solemn form was required to determine the validity of the July 8 Document.

Findings of the Court:

The Court held that solemn form was required. The Court held that the Applicants had adduced evidence, which if accepted at trial, would tend to negate the Deceased’s testamentary capacity at the time of the July 8 Document. The evidence on capacity was contradictory. Thus a trial, and the tools of cross-examination offered by trial, would better allow a trier of fact to truly determine which side’s evidence was more reliable.

The below findings of the Chambers Judge, taken from his decision, outline some of his factual conclusions:

[26] First, Mr. Shlahetka’s capacity remained in issue from and after his placement in Gateway Lodge in or about March 2015 to at least July 8, 2016, as well as after that date.

[27] Second, the affidavit evidence raises a serious issue as to Mr. Madson exerting undue influence over Mr. Shlahetka, including in his comments with respect to Mr. Shlahetka’s relationship with his nieces and nephew and more particularly regarding Ms. Vaudreuil’s motivation in seeking to manage Mr. Shlahetka’s affairs. Further, based on his own affidavit, it is apparent Mr. Madson coached Mr. Shlahetka in the preparation of the July 8 Document.

[35] The evidence regarding Mr. Shlahetka’s capacity is highly contradictory.

[69] As can be seen from the above examination of the evidence, there were significant conflicts regarding Mr. Shlahetka’s mental state at the time the July 8 Document was signed, his intentions, his relationship with his nieces and nephew, his relationship with the Madsons, the actions and role of Mr. Madson and the circumstances surrounding the making of the July 8 Document. These are not mere contradictions on immaterial issues. There are major conflicts in relation to material issues that could affect a determination of capacity and undue influence. Having regard for the summary of the affidavit evidence set out above, controversy remains on several critical matters in dispute, some of which overlap, and many of which will require an assessment of credibility by a trier of fact.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the Chambers Judge made the following order:

  1. He directed a trial to prove the July 8 Document in solemn form to determine what portion, if any, of the July 8 Document expressed the testamentary intention of the Deceased;
  2. The issues to be determined at trial included (without limitation) the below:
  1. Whether the Deceased, at the time of the execution of the July 8 Document, had testamentary capacity; and
  2. Whether the Deceased, at the time of the execution of the July 8 Document was subject to undue influence.

Contacting a Lawyer on this Subject

James Steele’s preferred practise area is estate litigation, including will challenges, executor disputes, power of attorney issues, etc. Contact James Steele at 1-306-933-1338 or [email protected]. The above is for general information only, and not legal advice. Parties should always seek legal advice prior to taking action in specific situations.

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Saskatchewan Estate Litigation Update: Kuffner v. Jacques, 2023 SKKB 14

The recent Saskatchewan King’s Bench decision in Kuffner v. Jacques offers guidance on when the merits of a will challenge can be decided in a summary fashion, as opposed to a full trial.

Factual background:

 

The factual background in Kuffner was as follows:

  1. The Will Challenge:

The deceased at issue was Phillip Eugene Jacques (“Deceased”). Mr. Jacques died on September 19, 2018, at the age of 88. Prior to his death, the Deceased executed wills dated May 28, 2012; October 10, 2013; October 21, 2013; and July 9, 2014.

The will dated July 9, 2014, was admitted to probate on December 6, 2019. The challenger, Jason Kuffner (“Challenger”) was one of eight step-grandchildren of the Deceased. The May 28, 2012 will provided for the Challenger to receive a larger share of the estate than the Challenger would receive under the later wills. The primary difference was that the 2012 will provided the Challenger with a specific bequest of land and farm equipment, while the subsequent wills provided him with a one-eighth share of a portion of the Deceased’s

The Challenger had applied for solemn form, and to revoke probate of the 2014 Will. Mr. Justice Megaw, in a judgment of May 6, 2019 (the “Megaw Judgment”), had concluded there was a genuine issue for trial as to whether the Deceased had testamentary capacity when he executed the will of July 9, 2014.

  1. Application for Summary judgment:

Before moving on with a description of the decision in Kuffner, some context is helpful. For will challenges in Saskatchewan, they typically follow a two stage process:

  1. Stage 1: First, there is a threshold Chambers hearing to determine if there is sufficient merit in the testamentary challenge to warrant a trial. This Chambers hearing will be simply conducted on affidavit and documentary evidence. In this case, the Stage 1 hearing was held before Justice Megaw, and resulted in a May 6, 2019 judgment that there was a genuine issue of capacity for trial; and
  2. Stage 2: Second, if the challenger is indeed found to have raised a genuine question affecting the will, a full trial involving vive voce testimony will then typically be held to determine the actual validity of the will. The trial is often preceded by the steps of document disclosure, sworn questioning, and a pre-trial conference.
Summary judgment is a procedure which is distinct from a trial. Summary judgment involves a court reviewing evidence which is primarily (or totally) in affidavit form (paper form). The evidence is thus not introduced through a succession of live witnesses, which is what occurs in trial, where each witness can be examined and cross-examined, to best evaluate credibility.

Here, in Kuffner v. Jacques, the Challenger did not wish to incur the full expense and delay of a trial to deal with the Stage 2 of the will challenge. The Challenger instead applied for what is called summary judgment, seeking (among other things) a declaration that the Deceased lacked testamentary capacity when he executed the wills dated October 10, 2013, October 21, 2013, and July 9, 2014. If the Court had in fact granted such summary judgment, that would produce the desired outcome for the Challenger – i.e. that the May 28, 2012 will would be the document admitted to probate.

Issue posed in Kuffner:

 

Much of Kuffner distilled to the below issue: whether summary judgment could appropriately decide whether the deceased, Phillip Eugene Jacques, lacked testamentary capacity when he executed wills dated October 10, 2013, October 21, 2013, and July 9, 2014.

Court ruling in Kuffner:

 

The Court, in a decision written by Mr. Justice Tochor, began by outlining the test which governs whether summary judgment should be employed:

18  A primary task in determining summary judgment applications is assessing whether there is a conflict in the evidence and, if so, whether that conflict can be resolved in some way short of conducting a trial.

Typically, a court will be most comfortable with summary judgment if it concludes that:

  1. The Court can use the summary judgment process to make the necessary findings of fact;
  2. The Court can use the summary judgment process to apply the law to the facts; and
  3. Summary judgment would be more expeditious and less expensive means to achieve a just result than going to trial.
Ultimately, the Court in Kuffner held that summary judgment was not appropriate in this case. In doing so, the Court essentially relied on two grounds.

First, the Court noted that Mr. Justice Megaw, in his prior judgment of May 6, 2019, had made an explicit finding that there was “genuine issue for trial as to whether Mr. Jacques had testamentary capacity when he executed the will of July 9, 2014.” Mr. Justice Tochor held that this prior order provided a reason why a trial should indeed occur.

The Challenger made the argument that Mr. Justice Megaw’s finding there is a “genuine issue for trial” could not be read to mean that Mr. Justice Megaw had found there was a “genuine issue requiringa trial”. However, Mr. Justice Tochor had a different perspective, and concluded:

31      I cannot accept the distinction Mr. Kuffner seeks to advance in this submission. I cannot conceive there is any material difference between “a genuine issue fortrial” and “a genuine issue requiringa trial”. The plain words used by Mr. Justice Megaw convey an unmistakable intention to order a trial to resolve whether Mr. Jacques had testamentary capacity. There cannot be any misunderstanding of Mr. Justice Megaw’s conclusion that a trial of this issue is required in these circumstances.

As an aside, this author has sympathy with the submission of the Challenger. The Challenger argued that an order that capacity raised a “genuine issue for trial” should not be automatically treated as an order that a full trial was definitively required to determine such genuine issue in Stage 2. Given the customary language found in the case law (case law which is often from a prior period of time, in which summary determinations were not accepted as widely as they are now), many courts will simply use the phrase “genuine issue required for trial” in their Stage 1 orders, without turning their minds to the possibility that a separate, future judge may be asked to invoke its summary judgment powers in Stage 2.

But leaving this aside, Mr. Justice Tochor went on to find that, even if he was in error in relying upon Justice Megaw’s ruling of May 6, 2019, to dismiss the Challenger’s application, Mr. Justice Tochor also consciously declined summary judgment for another reason. Put simply, he himself felt uncomfortable in making findings of credibility in the face of conflicting evidence, as it related to the Deceased’s capacity. For example, one conflict arose between:

  1. The evidence of the Challenger, who attested that he saw the Deceased to suffer dementia after suffering from a stroke in April 2013. The Challenger said that he saw the Deceased to be easily confused and his memory was poor, and was otherwise unable to drive alone or conduct his daily affairs;
  2. By contrast, the evidence of the Deceased’s lawyer and accountant, throughout the material times, found the Deceased to be clear of mind, and firm in his understanding of the testamentary changes he was making.

There was also conflicting medical evidence, as two medical professionals had reached different conclusions, on the degree of capacity that the Deceased would have held.

It should be noted, as an aside, that it is open to a judge to resolve conflicts in the evidence within the structure of the summary judgment process, even in the absence of viva voce  For example, parties can cross examine on affidavits. But it appears that Mr. Justice Tochor did not feel that such processes would, in this specific case, give him the comfort that he needed.

 

Conclusion:

 

Mr. Justice Tochor ultimately dismissed the Challenger’s application for summary judgment. Instead, he ordered that the Local Registrar should, in consultation with the parties, set the matter down for a pre-trial conference. A pre-trial conference is the next step before a trial, and such an order would thus keep the matter moving forward.

Costs of this application were ordered to be costs in the cause. This means that whomever won at the future trial, would receive a specific costs orders in relation to this specific application. Until the winner was known from the future trial, no costs for this application would be paid however.

The author sympathizes with the practical reasons which likely prompted the Challenger to seek summary judgment. A full trial takes much longer than summary judgment (sometimes years longer). A full trial also costs tens of thousands of dollars more in legal fees. This is because a trial requires extensive witness preparation, witness travel, lawyer travel, additional correspondence with the court and parties, and lawyer attendance for full days of trial, etc.

In this author’s experience, there have not been many reported instances of challengers attempting to use summary judgment, to avoid a full trial on Stage 2 of solemn form. The decision in Kuffner provides a sobering indication that it may be difficult for parties to obtain a summary determination in relation to Stage 2 of a will challenge. It ultimately remains a personal decision, for each judge to evaluate whether they feel that summary judgment can resolve conflicting evidence appropriately, on a unique application.

Contacting a Lawyer on this Subject

James Steele’s preferred practise area is estate litigation, including will challenges, executor disputes, power of attorney issues, etc. Contact James Steele at 1-306-933-1338 or [email protected]. The above is for general information only, and not legal advice. Parties should always seek legal advice prior to taking action in specific situations.

Read more on our blog.

The Saskatchewan Estate Law blog is dedicated to providing practical, real-world information on Estate Law issues that affect Saskatchewan residents. The blog is written by RS lawyer, James Steele, whose practice focuses on estate litigation.

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Can I Keep My Engagement Ring?

Upon the breakdown of a marriage, there are defined laws addressing how marital property is to be divided. But what happens if an engagement doesn’t result in marriage? And who gets to keep the engagement ring?

Each province addresses ring ownership upon the breakdown of an engagement differently. Theoretically, courts have grappled with the concept of gifting and whether an engagement ring should be considered an absolute or conditional gift. Courts have even imported contract law principles in their determination of ownership.

The relative lack of clarity with which this area has been approached by the courts and in the common law has led to some jurisdictions drafting legislation to deal with gifts exchanged before marriage.

For example, section 33 of Ontario’s Marriage Act has codified the common law principle that fault may not be considered where an engagement ring is given in contemplation of marriage or given as a “conditional gift”:

Where one person makes a gift to another in contemplation of or conditional upon their marriage to each other and the marriage fails to take place or is abandoned, the question of whether or not the failure or abandonment was caused by or was the fault of the donor shall not be considered in determining the right of the donor to recover the gift.

A simple application is: if no marriage follows, the ring must be returned to the donor. The justification being that return of the ring puts both parties in the position they were in before the engagement.

Other jurisdictions do not have similar legislation and remain bound by common law. Saskatchewan courts continue to follow precedents which retain historical foundations from 1917 (see Jacobs v Davis, [1917] 2 K.B. 532 at p. 533). Despite the old principle being adapted to apply to all relationships (not just those between a man and a woman), the basic idea is this:

If an individual who has received a ring refuses to fulfill the condition of the gift, they must return it. On the other hand, if the donor of the ring, without “recognized legal justification”, refuses to carry out their promise of marriage, they cannot demand the return of the engagement ring. It does not matter if the breaking of the promise turns out to be the ultimate advantage of both parties (D’Andrea v Schmidt, 2005 SKQB 201).

The legal effect of this common-law principle means that practically, if you break off an engagement, you are not entitled to the ring. Using the heteronormative example, boy proposes to girl, girl ends engagement, he gets to demand return of the ring. Alternatively, boy proposes to girl, boy ends engagement, she gets to keep the ring. In a way, the court has imported some level of fault (at least relating to the relationship ending) as being relevant in determining ring ownership.

As always in the law, there may be exceptions to the rule, but it is easy to see that certain inequities may exist where legislation is strictly adopted. Concepts of fairness may be compromised where a donor is allowed to demand the return of a ring, despite otherwise questionable actions or behaviours leading to the breakdown of an engagement. Alternatively, punishing an engagement ender by denying them the ability to retain an engagement ring might swing too far in the other direction, especially when considering the potential magnitude of cost.

A final option is that an engagement ring may be treated as a true and perfected gift. A judge may consider this the case where the donor says, “even if we never get married, this is a gift to you to remain yours”. This leaves no condition to be ‘fulfilled,’ and the recipient would likely retain ownership of the ring.

Despite this confusing and inconsistent area of the law, courts are apt to consider each case on its merits. We recommend seeking professional legal advice where there are questions related to engagement ring ownership.

This article is intended to provide legal information only, not legal advice.

For further information, please contact:

Tessa Wall
Student at Law
Direct: 306-933-1368
Email: [email protected]

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