What do you do as a lawyer when you represent someone who is waiting to receive money from an estate, but the Estate Trustee will not pay? An interim distribution can commonly be made. The Estate Trustee can hold back some of the funds for potential liabilities and distribute some of the money immediately. Potential liabilities can involve delayed tax filings related to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) procedures being slow, or other estate liabilities. Final distribution can be delayed for a matter of 2-3 years, or even longer. As an example, on a $1,000,000 estate, the hold back might be $200,000 on $50,000 of estate liabilities that are known or can be knowledgeably estimated. This safely leaves $800,000 for immediate interim distribution, without waiting years until concluding administration of the estate. However, the practice of the Office of Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) in Ontario is not to do interim distributions. They take the position that even if there is the remotest potential for liability they will not take the risk. As a government entity there is certainly no incentive to take any risk. The following rhetorical question illustrates the problem – What civil servant in a bureaucratic government agency is going to move quickly to take on liability and risk?
A recent decision clearly directs the Office of Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) of Ontario to make an immediate interim distribution as Estate Trustee.
It is unfortunate, in my view, that anyone would have to take steps to seek an Order in these circumstances. This is what happened in Foundation for Human Development and Jack Benson v The Estate of Keith Irwin-Reekie, 2020 ONSC 299, with the decision released on January 15, 2020. The court directed an interim distribution by the OPGT, to distribute the inheritance to which the moving parties were entitled. The court found that it was appropriate to exercise discretion under rule 74.15 (1) (i) “Orders for Assistance” of the Rules of Civil Procedure, Courts of Justice Act. The reasoning was that it was usual practice for estate trustees to make interim distributions out of estates, “once the Estate Trustee has a good understanding of the taxes and other liabilities of the estate, holding back sufficient funds in the estate to satisfy those expenses / liabilities”.
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