Daughter seeking to be guardian of father's estate found in financial conflict of interest
The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador has dismissed competing applications by two adult children seeking to be appointed as the guardian of their 80-year-old father’s estate under N.L.’s Mentally Disabled Persons' Estates Act, 1990.
In this case, the father resided in Millville in the Codroy Valley, Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2021, he was diagnosed with moderate dementia. His physician confirmed that he was incapable of making decisions regarding his finances and other affairs. His estate, including land and buildings, was valued at approximately $400,000.
His son and his daughter filed competing applications for guardianship. Each claimed to be the more suitable person to manage the father’s estate. The daughter presented consents from two other siblings to her appointment as guardian.
The son alleged that his sister had misappropriated at least $80,000 in funds, removed items from the father’s home, sold or discarded these items, and made large purchases. He also objected to the transfer of the father’s vehicle to her.
The daughter – who lived next door to the father in a house owned by him – claimed that she had been helping him manage his finances since the decline of his health. She said that she tracked his income, paid bills and expenses, and led home improvements. She denied the alleged misappropriation.
The court evaluated which of the two adult children could protect the father’s best interests. The court’s assessment included considerations such as the proposed guardian’s ability to act honestly, competently, diligently, and without conflict of interest in managing the estate. The court stressed that the appointed guardian should be able to handle his finances in a disinterested, unbiased manner.
In Re White Estate, 2024 NLSC 115, the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court dismissed both applications for guardianship. The court suggested that the family instead apply for the appointment of the public trustee as the estate’s guardian under N.L.’s Public Trustee Act, 2009.
The court concluded that neither the son nor the daughter could serve as guardian of the father’s estate. The court noted that the siblings mutually distrusted one another and made financial abuse accusations.
The court was unconvinced that the son was able and prepared to act as guardian using the diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person. The court noted that he anticipated that his wife would be carrying out the duties of banking, paying bills, and other tasks of financial administration.
The court also found the daughter unsuitable as guardian. As the appointed guardian, she would be in a direct financial conflict of interest because she had a landlord/tenant relationship with her father and had an obligation to pay him rent. The court noted that she stopped paying him rent in December 2021 for what the court described as a “dubious” reason.
