Alexander Holburn congratulates its client Ginny Lam for the decision obtained in Lam v. Law Estate.
In its decision, the BC Supreme Court varied the will of Ginny’s mother from a 50/50 distribution of the primary estate asset as between Ginny and her brother, the defendant William Law, to an 85/15 distribution in favour of Ginny. Justice Maria Morellato found the two parties were clearly dedicated to their mother, spending many, many hours in the years after their father’s death attending to their mother’s needs and Ginny playing a major role in caring for her mother. The Court agreed that the notional equality of the will was belied by the fact that Mrs. Law had left a significant portion of the family’s wealth to her son through gifts made outside of her estate and that Mrs. Law’s reasoning for this was predicated on her view that sons are more entitled to the family’s estate based on their gender. The case was not straightforward from an evidentiary perspective with the defendant denying receipt of many of the gifts and refusing to produce financial documents. Ginny was required to prove that her brother received significant gifts from his mother during her lifetime, all of which findings of fact were contested and vigorously defended by the defendant’s very capable counsel.
In result, Justice Maria Morellato was persuaded “on the whole of the evidence that the 2018 Will must be varied to address the gender-based bias subsumed within the deceased’s distribution of her assets and estate. Contemporary justice does not countenance preferential treatment towards certain children over others based on their gender.” (para. 165)
The Alexander Holburn team, led by partner Aubrie Girou, included partner Derek Frenette and associate Christy Tang.
Ginny says the following about her experience with Alexander Holburn’s estate litigation team:
“My case highlighted generational traditions that were outdated and biased towards women. It was a very polarizing topic that went against the wishes of my late mother, but I knew I had to challenge her will and it wasn’t going to be easy. I found the most amazing team at AHBL that understood my fears and concerns. I was introduced to Aubrie, Derek, and Christy who were personal, relatable and knowledgeable. I felt understood and very well represented. They were incredibly detail-oriented, composed and exuded professionalism in and out of the courtroom. I felt very confident in their ability to represent my story and am so happy they were on my side. Thank you!”
The decision has attracted much attention in both mainstream and social media:
Article in the Vancouver Sun: B.C. court overrules ‘biased’ will that left $2.9 million to son, $170,000 to daughter
Story and interview on CTV News: Woman nearly shut out of her mother’s estate sues brother in BC Supreme Court and wins
Interview on Global radio (at 36minutes): A Little More Conversation with Ben O’Hara-Byrne | Global News
Story and interview on City News: Woman successfully challenges mother’s ‘gender-biased’ will court
Alexander Holburn congratulates the estate litigation team on an excellent result in a challenging case.
The decision has been appealed and Alexander Holburn will continue to represent Ginny in defending the appeal at the BC Court of Appeal.
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