Financial Disclosure In Wills Variation Matters: Richter v Richter Estate

• Law Firm: Clark Wilson LLP
• Subject Matter: Family and Matrimonial, Family Law, Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning
• Author: Ms Polly Storey and Cameron Fox
• Published date: 02 February 2023

Parties to wills variation proceedings have, for some years, faced uncertainty regarding the financial disclosure they may be required to provide to other parties during the litigation process. Disclosure of financial information can give rise to concerns about privacy, and these concerns may be felt more acutely where, as is often the case, those other parties are family members with whom a litigant may have acrimonious relationships.

In Richter v. Richter Estate, 2023 BCSC 105, the British Columbia Supreme Court recently considered the scope of document disclosure obligations in wills variation matters. Justice Blake confirmed that while some financial disclosure will always be relevant, the extent of the disclosure required will vary based on the circumstances of each case.

Richter Estate

In Richter Estate, the plaintiff, Ms. Richter, applied to vary her mother's Will pursuant to s. 60 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act.¹ By her Will, the Deceased provided the majority of her Estate to two of her children, Mr. Richter and Ms. Chapman, and left a relatively small share of her Estate to the plaintiff. The Deceased acknowledged in her Will that she had left less to Ms. Richter, and listed out her reasons for doing so. These included the Deceased's view that she had been estranged from Ms. Richter for many years and that Ms. Richter was financially independent.

The defendants were Ms. Richter's siblings, Mr. Richter and Ms. Chapman.² At para. 3 of her reasons, Justice Blake observed that, "It is clear that there is a high degree of conflict and animosity between Ms. Richter and her siblings."

The defendant, Mr. Richter, applied under Rule 7-1 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules³ for extensive financial disclosure from Ms. Richter and from her spouse. The disclosure sought included financial documents relating to Ms. Richter personally, to her spouse, to any corporation controlled by Ms. Richter or her spouse, and to any trust of which Ms. Richter or her spouse was a named beneficiary, all as of the Deceased's date of death.

Scope of Document Disclosure in Civil Litigation

Before dealing with the specific documents required to be disclosed in the case before her, Justice Blake reviewed the law regarding document disclosure in civil litigation more generally under the Supreme Court Civil Rules:

1. Rule 7-1 requires parties to list documents in their possession or control (i.e. that they are able to obtain) which could be used by any party to prove or disprove a material fact. What would prove or disprove a material fact depends on the facts set out in the pleadings and an analysis of the parties' claims/defences.
2. Rule 7-1(10) allows a party to demand further documents that they say ought to have been listed under Rule 7-1.
3. Rule 7-1(11) allows a party to demand a broader scope of...