What is the testator’s moral obligation to make provision for his dependent spouse after he dies?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Green v. Hendershot, 2000 BCSC 129 (CanLII):

As held in Glanville v. Glanville (1998), 58 B.C.L.R. (3d) (B.C.C.A.) at 247, legal obligations only determine the minimum possible level for what is adequate, just and equitable. In Tataryn, McLachlin J. observed at para. 31: For further guidance in determining what is “adequate, just and equitable”, the court should next turn to the testator’s moral duties toward spouse and children. It is to the determination of these moral duties that the concerns about uncertainty are usually addressed… For example, most people would agree that although the law may not require a supporting spouse to make provision for a dependent spouse after his death, a strong moral obligation to do so exists if the size of the estate permits. She held further at para. 32: Where priorities must be considered, it seems to me that claims which would have been recognized during the testator’s life – i.e., claims based upon not only moral obligations but legal obligations – should generally take precedence over moral claims.

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