One of our estate litigators in Calgary, Fred Fenwick, Q.C.,
recently recovered a judgment in excess of $500,000.00 in favour of
a medically disabled, adult biological child as against the estate
of her estranged biological father.
The case was unusual as the biological relationship had never
been acknowledged (although it was suspected) and although
medically disabled as an adult, the claimant had no support
relationship with the deceased during his lifetime.
Notwithstanding all that, the provisions of the
Dependent's Relief Act (now continued into
the Wills and Succession Act) require an estate to support
"family members" which includes not only the usual and
expected family members (spouses, adult inter-dependent partners,
minor children) but also "a child of the deceased who is
at least 18 years of age at the time of the deceased's death
and unable to earn a livelihood by reason of mental or physical
disability".
