In the spirit of the season, we take this opportunity to explore potential estates issues with respect to age-old Halloween stories, supposing they occurred in Ontario.

Dracula

Spawned from historical and mythic accounts of Vlad the Impaler and reimagined in Bram Stoker’s classic, Dracula is the prototypical vampire – debonair and inconspicuous gentleman by day, bloodthirsty and puissant ghoul by night – a personification of evil. With such notoriety, it is unsurprising that his estate is fabulous. Once Dracula is deceased (from a silver bullet), his estate trustee could liquefy all the treasures he has accumulated through the ages. And there is no doubt that his castle, with its grand halls, ornate architecture, and scenic view of the Transylvanian mountains, would be worth a fortune. But what of the beneficiaries? If Dracula has a will, surely it would have some foul purpose that would be voided on public policy grounds. Applying the laws of intestacy, then, we would look for Dracula’s spouse and next of kin, but being as his life goals were far from romantic and familial, it is most probable “that the property becomes the property of the Crown, and the Escheats Act, 2015 applies” (Succession Law Reform Act, s. 47(7)).

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein illustrates how social alienation can lead to monstrosity (a subject explored more subtly than in Joker), but in film and popular culture it is best remembered as a warning against science going too far (i.e., the wakening of an uncontrollable force, akin to the Jewish golem and symbolic of nuclear warfare). Now we must imagine that Dr. Frankenstein’s estate would be less than the Mummy’s (what with all the riches in an Egyptian crypt), but much as Dr. Frankenstein might port the shabby dress of a man in his station, we should not doubt that a mad scientist can accumulate valuable assets. Since the wretch probably does not have legal personhood, however, any bequest from Dr. Frankenstein to his creation would probably have to be in the form of a charitable donation (similar to the woman who gave everything to dogs, as we blogged about here). But then we must wonder if the wretch were exercising undue influence on Dr. Frankenstein … There is also the question of claimants against the estate, for the wretch’s many victims would be expected to sue.

Hansel and Gretel

The Brothers Grimm memorialized this cautionary tale about two children who get lost in the woods and end up the captives of an evil witch. In the aftermath of the children outsmarting and destroying their captor, the question arises: what will happen to her gingerbread house and other candy assets? We may infer that her will would be invalid, for a cannibalistic witch cannot be said to be operating with a sound enough mind to meet the threshold for testamentary capacity. In any case, the children could claim dependant support according to section 58(1) of the Succession Law Reform Act, for they were being fed (especially Hansel) large quantities of candy and were provided with shelter. And if estate litigation were to ensue, the Ontario Children’s Lawyer would likely have to get involved: Hansel and Gretel, precocious as they may be, are still children.

Happy Halloween!
Suzana Popovic-Montag and Devin McMurtry