Law360 Canada ( February 13, 2026, 9:39 AM EST) -- Appeal by appellants from an order validating unsigned 2024 draft wills. The testator, John, died in May 2024 after a lengthy illness. He was in a common-law relationship with the respondent, Jennifer, for 14 years and was previously married to Irene, with whom he had two sons, Jeffrey and David. David’s son, Shawn, was John’s only grandchild. John executed a valid will in 2018 creating a spousal trust for Jennifer and a family trust for Shawn. In December 2022, he prepared new primary and secondary wills before his accountant, Lepore, but they were improperly executed with only one witness. These wills eliminated Shawn’s trust and placed corporate shares into Jennifer’s spousal trust. In early 2024, as his illness progressed, John consulted solicitor Simpson to prepare new wills. Drafts were produced with slip sheets altering shareholdings but were unsigned and uninitialed. The dispositive provisions mirrored the 2022 wills. Simpson deposed that John was indecisive in early 2024 and had not finalized testamentary instructions. After John’s death, Jennifer applied to validate the 2024 drafts. The application was unopposed, and the judge declared the drafts valid without reasons. The appellants, John’s children, grandchild, and former spouse appealed, arguing the drafts did not reflect John’s testamentary intentions and relied on fresh evidence of the 2018 will discovered after the application judge’s order. They sought to set aside the validation and remit the matter for determination of the validity of the 2022 will....