Barbara Stratton comments in Investment Executive on the recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision in in Mawhinney v Scobie. The case included a “no-contest” clause and it may give lawyers greater confidence including the clause in a client’s will.
No-contest clauses are meant to discourage legal challenges to a will by disinheriting beneficiaries who challenge a will in court and are unsuccessful. Barbara says, “We haven’t had clear case law letting us know if these clauses have teeth, and now we do.”
This was a seminal decision in the drafting and interpretation of no-contest clauses, the Alberta Court of Appeal allowed the appeal argued by Barbara and Sarah Huot of Bennett Jones.