What happens to communications between a solicitor and a testator once the testator passes away? Can privilege be waived in order to determine the intentions of a testator?
As stated in R v McClure, 2001 SCC 14, “solicitor/client privilege must be as close to absolute as possible to ensure public confidence and retain relevance. As such, it will only yield in certain clearly defined circumstances, and does not involve a balancing of interests on a case-by-case basis.”
It has been established that the beneficiary of privilege (i.e. the client) is able to pass on their privilege to established successors. Pursuant Bullivant v AG for Victoria [1901] (HL), a testator’s death does not destroy the privilege that can be asserted by an executor, and the heirs of the testator.
In Hicks Estate v. Hicks, (1987) 25 E.T.R. 271, the Ontario District Court (as it then was) was faced with the question of whether an Estate Trustee could step into the shoes of the deceased individual and waive privilege in the same fashion as the deceased. In this case, the court clarified that solicitor/client privilege exists for the benefit of the client, not the solicitor.
In Goodman v Geffen, [1991] 2 SCR 353, the Supreme Court of Canada established that there are situations where privilege does not arise where the interests of the party seeking information are the same as those of the individual who retained the solicitor. For example, the court may receive evidence from a solicitor of instructions given to the solicitor by a deceased testator in order to determine the testator’s true intentions. This principle has been further explained in the case of Stewart v Walker (1903) 6 OLR 495 (CA): “the reason on which the rule is founded is the safeguarding of the interest of the client, or those claiming under him when they are in conflict with the claims of third persons not claiming, or assuming to claim under him.” As such, upon the death of a testator, it is possible for the privilege between the testator and their solicitor to extend beyond death.
Aside from trying to determine the true intentions of the testator, the principle of solicitor/client privilege upon the death of a testator can be applied to the disclosure of legal opinions to a trustee, as a trustee is bound to act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and to further their interests. This will be discussed further next week.
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