Working with a Will: The most common problems that arise

Originally published: June 29, 2020 | Last updated: August 20, 2025

Writing a Will is the essential first step in estate planning. But after death, when the executor begins carrying out the Will’s instructions, problems can arise. Estate disputes, arguments that occur during estate administration, are separate from formal Will challenges, and they are far more common.

This guide, developed with input from probate specialists, covers the most common types of estate disputes and how to prevent them.

Table of Contents

What Are the Most Common Estate Disputes?Debt and Quantum Meruit ClaimsChild and Spousal Support Owed by the DeceasedGifts and Dispositions Made Before DeathJointly Owned Property and Bank AccountsStatutory Spousal ClaimsDependent Support Claims

Debt and Quantum Meruit Claims

Child and Spousal Support Owed by the Deceased

Gifts and Dispositions Made Before Death

Jointly Owned Property and Bank Accounts

Statutory Spousal Claims

Dependent Support Claims

What Are the Grounds for Formally Challenging a Will?

• What Problems Can Arise from the Executor’s Behavior?The Executor Refuses to Show the Will to FamilyThe Executor Delays Probating the EstateThe Executor Mismanages the EstateCan an Executor Be Removed?
• The Executor Refuses to Show the Will to Family
• The Executor Delays Probating the Estate
• The Executor Mismanages the Estate

Can an Executor Be Removed?

How Can You Prevent Estate Disputes?

What Are the Most Common Estate Disputes?

• The process of formal Will challenges which involve Will validity disputes happens infrequently but estate conflicts between administrators occur frequently. These fall into several categories:
• Debt and Quantum Meruit Claims

Third parties may claim that the deceased owed them money. The estate becomes responsible to pay for services which people delivered to the deceased person including caregiving and home maintenance and business work through Quantum meruit claims. The claims fall into two categories which include genuine claims from caregivers who never received their promised payment and fake claims from people who try to take advantage of the system.

The executor needs to review each claim through proper evaluation and document collection before they can decide about making estate payments. The estate must pay off all valid debts before it can distribute its assets to beneficiaries. The process of debt distribution after death becomes clear through our death debt distribution guide.

• Child and Spousal Support Owed by the Deceased
• The obligation to pay child support and spousal support continues even after a person passes away. The estate must pay all past due amounts but the support obligation continues to apply to the estate in particular situations. The court system requires the estate to maintain regular support payments which dependents will receive.

Gifts and Dispositions Made Before Death

Family members face asset restrictions because deceased persons distributed their properties to others before their passing. Clearly intended gifts (such as charitable donations) generally stand. People who received gifts from the deceased because they had a special bond with the deceased (including children and caregivers and close friends) face challenges to their gifts.

The recipient cannot prove the gift was genuinely intended

The evidence shows that someone forced the person to make their decision

• The deceased person lacked mental capacity when they received the gift
• The gift took the form of an “early inheritance payment” instead of an actual present
• Jointly Owned Property and Bank Accounts
• The deceased person made property title and bank account changes to add someone as a joint owner during their lifetime. On death, joint assets pass automatically to the surviving owner; outside the Will entirely. The situation leads to conflicts because beneficiaries think joint ownership served as a simple management tool for financial duties instead of being a valuable gift.

Canadian courts make use of various assumptions which depend on how people choose to connect with each other:

Spouse; joint ownership is generally presumed to be a genuine gift (right of survivorship applies)

Adult child or other person, the presumption is a “resulting trust,” meaning the joint ownership was for convenience and the asset should return to the estate

1. Statutory Spousal Claims
2. Marriage laws in Canadian provinces stop spouses from removing their married partner from inheritance rights. The surviving spouse has the right to elect between:
3. What they would inherit under the Will, or
4. What they would receive as an equalization payment under family law; approximately 50% of the gain in net family property during the marriage

The right to make this election exists for all persons regardless of whether they have a Will. The law protects surviving spouses from receiving nothing through Wills because they can claim their equalization rights. People who belong to blended families or enter into second marriages should study this matter because it affects them directly.

Note: Common-law partners do not have the same automatic statutory rights in most provinces. Common-law couples need to create a Will because this document protects their rights when someone dies without having a Will.

Dependent Support Claims

The court allows dependents who include minor children and disabled adult children and sometimes elderly parents to request estate support when the Will does not provide enough for their needs. The court system evaluates various elements when making their decisions about these matters.

The estate size

The dependent needs help because of their current situation

The deceased person had moral duties to support their dependent

The Will contains specific instructions about what happens to other beneficiaries

• Dependent support claims can override the terms of the Will. The procedure for disinheriting a dependent requires legal advice because of this requirement.
• What Are the Grounds for Formally Challenging a Will?
• Will challenges which aim to cancel the Will itself happen less frequently than estate disputes but they create major damage when they occur. The recognized grounds are:
• The testator lacked testamentary capacity because they failed to understand their actions when they signed the document due to dementia or mental illness or medication effects.
• The testator created or modified the Will because someone forced them through coercion or manipulation.

The Will document exists through fraudulent means or forged signatures instead of proper testator creation and signing.

The Will document lacks proper signature and witness procedures which makes it invalid.

The burden of proof falls on the challenger. Undue influence requires evidence of direct coercion because it goes beyond normal relationship-based influence. For more detail, see our article on specific grounds to challenge a Will.

What Problems Can Arise from the Executor’s Behavior?

The Executor Refuses to Show the Will to Family

1. Beneficiaries have a legal right to see the Will. The Will becomes accessible to the public once it has gone through the probate process. If the executor refuses to share it before probate, beneficiaries can apply to the court for disclosure. An executor who hides the Will is violating their fiduciary duty.
2. The Executor Delays Probating the Estate
3. There is no legal deadline for probating an estate, but unreasonable delays harm beneficiaries. The process of delay happens because executors struggle with their duties while family members fight and executors gain from estate control. Beneficiaries can apply to the court to compel probate or to remove the executor.
4. The Executor Mismanages the Estate
5. Executors must follow fiduciary rules which require them to perform actions that benefit the people who will get the estate assets. The mismanagement consists of these actions:
6. The staff members failed to protect all estate assets which they needed to safeguard.
7. The staff members made bad choices when they used estate funds for their investment activities.