Family disputes over inheritances, especially when involving real estate and one sibling caring for parents, often end up in court. This is the case in a Canadian family where a man has been sued by his two sisters after acquiring ownership of the house belonging to their 106-year-old mother, who had been diagnosed with dementia.

The man was responsible for managing his mother's finances and care, as well as the administration of the family home. His sisters, who had established their lives elsewhere, began to suspect something was amiss when their mother, at 98 years old, signed a document transferring ownership of the house to her son. Given the mother's cognitive state at the time, the sisters doubted her full understanding of the transaction.

These suspicions were amplified when the son withdrew additional funds from the family's bank accounts and admitted to a debt of $32,000 related to the inheritance. These events prompted the sisters to take legal action.

During the trial, a geriatric psychiatrist testified that the mother's dementia was sufficiently advanced in 2016 for her not to have been fully aware of transferring the property to her son. Another specialist disagreed, but the court ultimately favored the first expert's opinion.

Consequently, the court ruled that there were indications of undue influence by the son, requiring him to prove that the mother's decision had been entirely free and autonomous. However, this could not be demonstrated due to the mother not receiving independent legal advice and lacking sufficient awareness of the matter.

Justice ultimately overturned the property transfer, ordering that ownership revert to being shared between the mother and son. The situation became further complicated by the son's death; prior to his passing, he had transferred the house to his wife and placed a $1 million mortgage on it, linked to legal fees, which the court also ordered to be canceled.