Mussio Goodman LLP wins in BC Supreme Court on the principle of resulting trust

Mussio Goodman LLP is pleased to announce our recent success in the BC Court on another estate litigation matter.

In Rodrigues v. Berlinguette, 2026, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled on the principle of resulting trust (i.e. what is a gift over to the children of a deceased parent).

We were successful in that our clients were able to keep the proceeds of the sale of the home that their mother had gifted to them. They had used these proceeds to buy new homes and pay debts.

The family had five siblings. Two of the siblings, who were our clients, had the home gifted to them through joint tenancy by their mother and lived with her. She gave the home to three siblings by placing them on the title to the land as joint tenants because she was worried about where they would live if she passed. She viewed the home as a “home for everyone” and said that any of her children that needed it could stay. One of our clients testified stating “She could have put any one of us on title; she chose to put all of us on title so that way there would be a home.” Our clients viewed the home as their home and their mother reflected that when she transferred part ownership of the home to them.

The other two siblings had independent homes, lives, and spouses outside the family home. In contrast, the three siblings lived with their mother and did not have their own homes and spouses like their other two siblings. The judge stated that “On the whole of the evidence, I am persuaded that Marlene (the mother) prioritized the value in the Property as a home, a place she knew her children could live in, rather than as an asset with monetary value”.

The other two siblings that were not joint tenants on the title of the home tried to argue the home was held in trust for the estate as per the Supreme Court of Canada in Pecore v. Pecore that set out a presumption of resulting trust where a parent transfers a property to a property without compensation. However, the court disagreed stating that the presumption was rebutted and three siblings were entitled to the home and the proceeds through the right of survivorship as envisioned by the law surrounding joint tenancy.