Canada: Man's Will that cut out daughters overturned

[Emmortal]

Good job Canada!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/11/30/bc-will-overturned.html

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has overturned the will of a man who left all of his assets to his only son, neglecting his four daughters.

In a ruling posted on the court website Tuesday, Justice Randall Wong said that the deceased failed in being fair to the four women and ordered the inheritance to be divided among the five children.

Despite the dying man's wishes, the judge found that the will had to be "based on contemporary moral standards."

    'Their father was a hard and rigid man who ruled his family, and especially the women, with an iron fist.'—B.C. Supreme Court Justice Randall Wong

The daughters challenged the will of William Werbenuk, who died in 2008 at the age of 86.

He named his only son, Randall, as the sole inheritor and the executor of the will, which included instructions for several estates, farmland in Saskatchewan and a valuable violin collection, as well as a house worth about $430,000.

Wong noted in his ruling that the father terrorized his daughters and made them wash his feet.

"The evidence of all of the daughters indicate that their father was a hard and rigid man who ruled his family, and especially the women, with an iron fist," Wong said in his ruling. "He was a racist whose will and personality dominated his family."

Werbenuk wrote in his will that his son had looked after him for a long time and deserved his inheritance.

Wong found that the daughters ought to be compensated for their father's behaviour.

The ruling orders the son to return the guns and tools given to him by his father and for those assets to be divided among the siblings.

[Kazan]

Why is it good? Because the guy was an asshole his will is irrelevant in the eyes of the legal system? So in your opinion if your parents will you their estate and a court decides that you were not a good enough son/daughter they can say you get nothing and you would be fine with that?

[Emmortal]

Why is it good? Because the guy was an asshole his will is irrelevant in the eyes of the legal system? So in your opinion if your parents will you their estate and a court decides that you were not a good enough son/daughter they can say you get nothing and you would be fine with that?

I was being facetious when I said "Good Job Canada".  Maybe I should use the  to express my sarcasm from now on...

As a child, I believe I have no right to what my parents estate unless they deem fit to give anything to me.  If my parents willed their estate to charity or some random person I had never met, so be it, it was their money to begin with, not mine.

[Cy Tolliver]

Good job Canada!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/11/30/bc-will-overturned.html

That sounds pretty fucked, as far as I know you can will your estate to anyone you want here in the US.

[Lundgren]

Thanks assholes now I'm pissed off. 

[24KT]

Wills are contested every day in every country. Until we know all the details about this particular case, and WHY the will was overturned, then everything else is speculation. While it make for a colourful narrative, and sensational headlines, I'm assuming the judge had a more valid reason than simply he was a prick. I'll reserve judgement.

[loco]

Canada sucks!

[24KT]

Canada sucks!

Sometimes she does, ...but not as much as, or as often as the USA.   

[loco]

Sometimes she does, ...but not as much as, or as often as the USA.  

Canada is USA's mentally retarded, little brother.

[24KT]

Canada is USA's mentally retarded, little brother.

Well then your mentally retarded little brother knew enough stay away from the toxic derivatives you guys feasted on south of our mutual border, ...and avoided the economic crises plaguing you and the EU.

[loco]

Well then your mentally retarded little brother knew enough stay away from the toxic derivatives you guys feasted on south of our mutual border, ...and avoided the economic crises plaguing you and the EU.

That's only because Canada's economy is boring, low risk, low yield.

[240 is Back]

What would BETIL FOX do? 

[Fury]

Just think where Canada would be if it had a bunch of lazy-eyed Hollywood rejects handling their finances. Kinebar gold all around! 

[George Whorewell]

Another reason why Canada is a shit country. Would never happen in America unless you could prove that when the old man cut them out he was crazy or under the undue influence of someone else, or he was never sane enough to create a will in the first place, or the will was improperly executed. Cruel or not, if he had a will and he was of sound mind then his wishes should be respected. If he died without a will, then obviously the kids and any surviving spouse gets a cut.

A will is basically a contract. Allowing a judge to overrule a contract on the grounds that the person who made the contract was "mean" is ridiculous. Contemporary moral standards? Give me a fucking break. Who sets those standards? Some shitbag judge who uses his own whacked out interpretation of morality to determine which agreements are acceptable and which aren't despite the fact that the legality of the agreement is not in question ? The judge should consider another line of work-- maybe being a grief counselor or social worker would be more appropriate.

[Cy Tolliver]

That's only because Canada's economy is boring, low risk, low yield.

[Soul Crusher]

GW is right unless there is a law or statute not permitting one to write a child out of a will.

[24KT]

GW is right unless there is a law or statute not permitting one to write a child out of a will.

Unfortunately that article does not provide us with enough details to make an intelligent observation about the ruling. It's possible the daughters were minors. I don't know. I just know that none of us possess enough details to say whether the judge acted improperly or not.

[Dos Equis]

Another reason why Canada is a shit country. Would never happen in America unless you could prove that when the old man cut them out he was crazy or under the undue influence of someone else, or he was never sane enough to create a will in the first place, or the will was improperly executed. Cruel or not, if he had a will and he was of sound mind then his wishes should be respected. If he died without a will, then obviously the kids and any surviving spouse gets a cut.

A will is basically a contract. Allowing a judge to overrule a contract on the grounds that the person who made the contract was "mean" is ridiculous. Contemporary moral standards? Give me a fucking break. Who sets those standards? Some shitbag judge who uses his own whacked out interpretation of morality to determine which agreements are acceptable and which aren't despite the fact that the legality of the agreement is not in question ? The judge should consider another line of work-- maybe being a grief counselor or social worker would be more appropriate.

Agree. 

[Hugo Chavez]

Wills are contested every day in every country. Until we know all the details about this particular case, and WHY the will was overturned, then everything else is speculation. While it make for a colourful narrative, and sensational headlines, I'm assuming the judge had a more valid reason than simply he was a prick. I'll reserve judgement.

WRONG...  yes wills are contested every day but that doesn't validate the practice in any way.  It just means there are a lot of pissed off offspring that will do anything to get what they feel they deserve, not what was willed to them.  I wouldn't assume anything on the part of the judge, these guys often nullify the wishes of the person after death...  How fucking insane is that? Really, think about it...