- Claims based on your care or contributions to a parent's property are not written down anywhere, so they depend heavily on the facts and the evidence you can gather.
- It is a different idea from a resulting trust, which is the presumption courts apply to some gifts from parents to adult children and to joint accounts.
- The estate trustee is the person who collects assets, pays debts and taxes, and distributes what remains.
- Whether a claim is realistic depends heavily on the facts and the evidence, so it is worth speaking to a lawyer early.
You may have looked after a parent for years, moved in to help, or put money or work into a house that stayed in the parent's name. Now the parent has died, and the will or the law sends the estate somewhere that does not reflect what you gave. It is natural to ask whether you can claim something back.
One way people try to do this is a claim based on unjust enrichment and a constructive trust. This article explains in plain terms how it differs from other trust ideas that come up in estates, and what to gather and do next. It cannot tell you whether your own claim will succeed, because that turns on the details.
What a constructive trust claim means in plain words
Unjust enrichment and constructive trust are terms lawyers use when someone says their care, money or work benefited a person or a property and should be recognized. How those terms apply to your situation depends on the facts, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.
Who tends to raise these claims
These claims commonly come from people whose contribution was never written down. Typical situations include:
- A child or other relative who provided unpaid care at home for a long period, often giving up paid work or income to do so.
- Someone who paid for renovations, mortgage payments, taxes or upkeep on a property that the deceased held in their own name.
- A person who worked in a family business or on a farm on the understanding that they would eventually receive an interest.
- A partner or friend who shared a home and contributed to it without being named on title.
Whether any of these situations leads to a claim depends on your facts and the evidence, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.
How it differs from resulting trusts and joint accounts
People often mix up constructive trusts with resulting trusts. Both involve a court treating property as held for someone, but they start from different places. The Court of Appeal for Ontario has applied a presumption of resulting trust to a gratuitous transfer from a parent to an adult child, including bank accounts put into joint names with a right of survivorship. Under that presumption the person who received the transfer bears the onus, and it is rebutted by evidence of the parent's contrary intention to make a gift, proven on a balance of probabilities.
In a joint account dispute, the question is who owns the right of survivorship, and the court looks at the parent's actual intention when the account was made joint. That is about what the deceased meant to do with the asset, not about whether you earned a share by contributing.
| Idea | Starting question | Typical setting |
|---|---|---|
| Constructive trust (unjust enrichment) | Depends on the facts, so worth confirming with a lawyer | Caregiving, money or work put into property |
| Resulting trust | Did the deceased actually intend a gift when transferring the asset? | Parent putting an account or property into an adult child's name |
| Joint account survivorship | Who owns the right of survivorship? | Joint bank accounts held with a parent |
Who handles the claim and what to expect
An estate trustee is responsible for collecting the estate's assets, paying taxes and debts, and distributing the remainder under the will and the law. In Ontario a court may appoint an estate trustee where there is no will, no trustee is named, or the named trustee asks for confirmation.
If the estate includes a minor or an unborn or unascertained person with an interest, the Office of the Children's Lawyer must be served on an application to pass estate accounts. The Office can also ask an estate trustee for accounts and supporting records. This is one reason a claim can affect more people than the family members you have in mind.
Claims against an estate can be affected by deadlines, and by the type of claim and the court procedure used. Because those rules depend on the facts, confirm them with a lawyer as soon as you can rather than waiting.
What to do next
Early organization makes a real difference, because the strength of this kind of claim rests on evidence. Consider these steps:
- Write a timeline of what you did, when, and for how long, while your memory is fresh.
- Collect receipts, bank records, cheques, invoices and photos showing money or work you put in.
- Keep emails, texts and letters where the deceased talked about your help, the property or what they planned to leave you.
- Note who else saw your contribution, such as relatives, neighbours, doctors or home-care workers.
- Find out who the estate trustee is and whether the will has been submitted to court.
- Avoid signing releases or accepting a payment until you understand what rights you are giving up.
- Speak to an Ontario estates lawyer about your claim and any time limits.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim against an estate if I cared for my parent and nothing was written down?
Whether you have a claim depends on your facts and the evidence of what you contributed. It is worth confirming with a lawyer who can assess your situation.
Is a constructive trust the same as a resulting trust?
They are different ideas. A resulting trust looks at whether the deceased intended a gift when transferring an asset, such as a parent putting a bank account into an adult child's name. Whether a constructive trust applies to your situation depends on the facts, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.
What if my parent made me joint owner of a bank account?
In a dispute over a joint account, the court looks at the parent's actual intention when the account was made joint. For a transfer from a parent to an adult child, the recipient bears the onus of showing a gift was intended.
Who do I deal with when I make a claim?
Usually the estate trustee, who collects assets, pays debts and taxes, and distributes the remainder under the will and the law. If the matter goes to court, other people with an interest may also need to be involved.
Sources
- Ontario – Office of the Children's Lawyer and estates and trusts matters — ontario.ca
- Sawdon Estate v. Sawdon, 2014 ONCA 101 — ontariocourts.ca
- Ontario – Administering estates — ontario.ca
Links go to official government, court and regulator pages. The law changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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