Estate litigation disputes often arise when someone who believes they are entitled to an inheritance is left out of a will. These disputes are especially common in cases involving estrangement, where ties between the will-maker and a family member are fragile if not entirely non-existent, yet the family member still expects to be included in the estate.
It is important to understand that estrangement alone does not automatically prevent someone from challenging a will and potentially inheriting from the estate. In BC, the Wills, Estates, and Succession Act (WESA) provides some of the strongest wills variation protections in Canada. Depending on the nature of the relationship and the circumstances that led to the estrangement, eligible dependents may still have the legal right to challenge a will and ask the court to consider their claim for a fair share of the estate.
What Is Estrangement?
Estrangement refers to a breakdown or lack of contact between a family member and the person making a will. While estrangement can occur in any familial relationship, it most often involves a parent and an adult child. Conflicts over factors like lifestyle choices, financial disputes, or actions perceived as abandonment can lead to estrangement. Estrangement can be either voluntary or involuntary and can work both ways; parents may choose to distance themselves from a child, or a child may pull away from a parent.
While estrangement doesn’t prevent someone from challenging a will, it does increase the likelihood of a dispute. Naturally, questions get raised about moral obligations, expectations, and whether the relationship influenced the will-maker’s decisions.
Who Can Challenge a Will When Estrangement Is Involved?
Even when estrangement plays a major role in a will-maker’s decisions, only certain people are legally permitted to challenge a will under WESA.
Biological and Adopted Children
Biological and legally adopted children have the right to bring a wills variation claim. This group is most commonly involved in estrangement-related disputes, as the parent-child relationship can be emotionally complex, long-standing, and easily impacted by conflict.
Courts distinguish between legal and moral obligations. While estrangement may weaken a moral obligation, it rarely eliminates it. The key issue is whether the will-maker had valid, fact-based reasons for excluding the child or providing them with less than a fair share.
Spouses and Common-Law Partners
Under WESA, a person is considered a legal spouse or common-law spouse if they were legally married to the deceased or lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years prior to death. This includes situations where the relationship experienced strain or periods of distance.
Spouses typically have strong legal and moral claims because courts recognize an obligation on the will-maker to provide financial support. Even if a couple was estranged or living separately at the time of death, the surviving spouse may still have standing to bring a claim, depending on the circumstances and whether the relationship had formally ended.
People Who Cannot Challenge a Will
It is equally important to understand who cannot bring a wills variation claim.
- Stepchildren (unless legally adopted)
- Grandchildren, siblings, cousins, or other relatives
- Friends, caregivers, or distant connections
Regardless of whether these individuals had a close or strained relationship with the will-maker, they do not qualify under WESA’s variation provisions. Their legal remedies, if any, must come from other areas of estate law, such as claims of undue influence or lack of capacity.
How BC Courts Evaluate Estrangement
Courts take a detailed look at the relationship between the will-maker and the person bringing the claim forward. Judges evaluate a range of factors, including the length of the estrangement and the reasons for it. The quality of the relationship before the estrangement and any attempts at reconciliation are also considered.
In parent-child cases, judges consider whether the parent or the child initiated the estrangement, or whether it arose from a long-standing family conflict. Courts may reduce a child’s variation claim if the estrangement resulted from the adult child’s serious misconduct, such as criminal behaviour, abuse, or deliberate, long-term abandonment of the relationship. Conversely, if the estrangement was caused or worsened by the parent through neglect, hostility, or refusal to communicate, the child’s moral claim is likely to remain strong.
Spouses and common-law partners typically have the strongest legal claims under WESA because the will-maker is generally expected to provide financial support for them. Estrangement may affect the amount awarded, but it is unlikely to eliminate an award for the spouse. Judges look closely at factors such as financial dependence and contributions to the relationship.
What Does Estrangement Look Like?
Let’s consider an example where an estranged daughter is left out of a will. Say a father leaves his daughter out of his will and instead leaves his entire estate to his son. In the will, the father states that the daughter was left off, “due to lack of relationship.” It is known that the father and daughter were estranged for roughly 15 years prior to the father’s death.
The history behind the estrangement is important. The breakdown began when the daughter was in her early twenties after a conflict over the father’s new partner. Though their relationship was negatively affected, the daughter did not permanently cut ties with her father. She attempted to reconnect with him several times over the years, but her father declined. There is no evidence of misconduct or harmful behaviour on her part, and she received no financial support from her father during this period. More importantly, the father did not document any clear or specific reasons for excluding her beyond the vague reference to lack of contact.
Under WESA, the daughter has the legal right to bring a wills variation claim. A court reviewing the case would consider whether the father owed her a moral obligation despite the estrangement. Given the mutual or father-initiated nature of the breakdown and the absence of misconduct by the daughter, the court may find that a moral obligation still exists. The father’s failure to provide factual, well-supported reasons for disinheritance could further weaken his position.
As a result, a court could conclude that the will does not provide “adequate, just and equitable” provision under WESA. While this does not guarantee a 50/50 division between the siblings, the daughter may still be awarded a portion of the estate based on fairness principles, her financial needs, and the overall estate size.
Find Out If You Have a Valid Claim
Estrangement can make estate disputes especially emotional and legally complex. Whether you are an adult child questioning your exclusion or a spouse concerned about your financial future, navigating these issues under WESA requires careful legal guidance.
Stephens & Holman handles estate litigation involving estrangement, wills variation claims, and other disputes concerning wills. Our team understands how sensitive these cases can be and works to ensure your rights are protected while helping you pursue a fair outcome. Reach out to one of our offices today to learn more or to schedule an appointment.