Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeWealth'There are a lot of broken expectations': Inheritance disputes are on the rise as cost-of-living pressures climbHomes in an expensive real estate market are often Ground Zero for sibling squabbles over estate mattersLast updated 1 hour ago There are several circumstances that can lead to battles over inheritances. Photo by beeboys - stock.adobe.comOne of several adult children moves back into the family home to care for an aging parent, making sacrifices in her career and long-term earning potential.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorThen the parent dies and the will reveals the property has been bequeathed in an even split to all the children. A conflict begins, as the caregiver can’t afford to buy out the siblings, but feels she has the right to be compensated for her financial sacrifices and to remain in the home she has lived in and tended to for years.This is a scenario lawyer Kiran Arora, partner at Toronto-based Arora Lunau LLP, sees regularly in her practice, as cost-of-living pressures contribute to driving the increasing numbers of inheritance disputes several lawyers said they are seeing.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“When the (parent) dies, then you have a situation where (the child) feels like they’re owed,” she said. “That’s partly because it’s really hard for people to make a living right now.”The ramifications of estate litigation with family can extend well beyond the financial.“(There are) families that don’t recover from this … I’ve seen several situations where the siblings no longer have a relationship at the end,” Arora said. “It’s not just about money.”Jonathan Hooper, partner at Halifax-based Tupman & Bloom, said he has noticed a rise in inheritance disputes over the past decade, which have only intensified in the past two or three years following the COVID-19 pandemic.Hooper said increased financial need is a major factor. “We have a lot of younger people who have parents passing away, who, due to inflation, job pressure (or) many different reasons, are in a more difficult financial situation than they’ve been in a long time,” he said.The Great Wealth Transfer from baby boomers to their younger heirs has been widely publicized, with many inheritors hoping it can offset these economic challenges. However, Hooper said this shift is by no means as clean-cut and organized as it sounds.“What that seems to suggest is that everyone has their affairs in order, and there’s just going to be this dump of wealth from one generation to another,” he said, adding that many inheritances are stymied by taxes and lingering debts that can remain long after a parent has died. “There are a lot of broken expectations.”The question of who gets the family home (or, in some cases, the cottage) is a frequent scenario given the growth in property values, especially in certain markets. “The average house in Toronto is probably worth over $1 million,” said Pia Hundal, a Toronto-based litigation partner at Robins Appleby LLP. “So, just from a starting-off point, there’s a pool of money that is there to be fought over in the average estate.”And, in some cases, division of a family business may be at stake. Nick Esterbauer, partner at Toronto-based estate planning law firm Hull & Hull LLP, said this type of dispute can be tricky to resolve, particularly in situations where one child is bequeathed a business that has increased in value over time, and the other child receives an asset that hasn’t undergone the same appreciation.“You end up with a really unequal plan that people might take issue with,” he said.Many of these squabbles are rooted in underlying familial dynamics, rather than just money problems, said Carolyn Cole, founder and chief executive of family office firm Cole & Associates.Cole recalled a dispute within an affluent family over a rather unassuming heirloom: grandma’s toaster.“It was a legally sound, completely airtight, locked-down estate plan, and so the only thing this one sibling could do in screaming out in anger was sue the other one over stealing a toaster,” she said. “It was just the catalyst to the family dynamics that were already existing.”However, the process of litigation can be time-consuming and costly for families. Esterbauer said he has seen cases last anywhere from one year to five years, or even longer.“Just to get into court … you’re often looking at $20,000 or more, and then to go to a trial, it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “If you’re unsuccessful in the litigation, there’s a chance that you’re going to have to pay the other party’s cost as well, so it can be financially devastating.”During the interim, Hooper said these cases can put financial strain on the immediate family of the beneficiary, too, not just the siblings they are quarrelling with.“There are a lot of people who, when they find out they’re a beneficiary of an estate, start making financial plans based on that,” he said, adding that the family might intend to use their inheritance to pay for their child’s postsecondary education, purchase a home, fund their retirement savings or even just pay their day-to-day bills.The number of initiated probate cases in Canada have climbed by about 13 per cent from the 2014/2015 year to the 2024/2025 year to 27,301, according to Statistics Canada data, though this figure is below the high of 30,668 cases hit in the 2019/2020 year. The data for Ontario, which include contested estate matters only, indicate a 40 per cent jump over the past decade to 3,407 probate cases.But Hundal said the uptick in legal disputes could be a matter of demographics as well, not just increased anxiety about cost of living increases. “The boomer generation is one of the biggest generations, and they’re all at that age where they’re dying or they’re losing capacity.”Existing court data aren’t necessarily representative of the true volume of inheritance disputes in Canada, Esterbauer said.“We see so many barriers to estate litigation. We’ve got really high legal costs, and (there’s) the very public nature of disputes that make their way into court,” he said, adding that some families choose to address matters through mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution instead.There are several circumstances that can lead to battles over inheritances. For one, Canadians are living longer and older people can often experience forms of cognitive decline, which can lead to arguments around guardianship and power of attorney that continue even after the person’s death, Esterbauer said.There has also been an uptick in blended families, where subsequent marriages or common-law spousal arrangements can complicate the division of an estate.“A really common type of inheritance dispute we see is where someone is survived by a common-law spouse who was entirely financially dependent on the person who has passed away,” said Esterbauer.But one thing many estate litigants often aren’t considering is the potential emotional toll when they seek out a lawyer and go to court, Esterbauer said.“A lot of the time, when they finally reach settlement … (they just want) to move on with their lives and grieve.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.