Case Summary
Spellman v. Spellman, 2025 ONSC 1187
A six-year, multi-province estate heist has ended with an Ontario court modifying the distribution of a deceased woman’s estate to pay damages to her daughter, who was the vulnerable victim of frauds perpetrated by her son, the administrator of their father's estate. The court also awarded $50,000 in aggravated damages arising from the son's breach of his fiduciary duty to the plaintiff, who lives with a disability, and his disrespect of the court's authority.
The Trustee Absconds with the Father's Estate Assets
In Spellman v. Spellman, 2025 ONSC 1187, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled on a default judgment motion brought by the plaintiff, Dawn Spellman. The plaintiff sought damages from her brother, Steven Spellman, after he misappropriated estate funds, fled the jurisdiction, and failed to account for the assets of their late father, Donald Spellman, whose estate he was supposed to administer.
Donald died in New Brunswick without a will in 2018. At the time, Steven lived nearby. Dawn, who lives in Northwestern Ontario, suffers from multiple sclerosis and has mobility and vision challenges. She receives disability supports. For practical reasons, she did not feel suited to administer her father’s affairs. Dawn renounced her right to administer the estate, in favour of Steven.
The Probate Court of New Brunswick issued letters of administration to Steven in June 2018. Under the rules of intestacy, the estate value was to be divided equally between the two adult children. Instead, Steven paid Dawn $12,500 and provided her with no information about the estate at all. With the assistance of a local legal clinic, Dawn obtained a copy of the probate application, which indicated that the estate value was estimated at over $410,000, meaning Dawn ought to have received much more.
In June 2020, our firm commenced a court application on Dawn’s behalf in New Brunswick, seeking a citation to pass accounts. Steven failed to comply with the resulting order, and a warrant was issued for his arrest for contempt of court in the fall of that year.
Tracing the Stolen Inheritance from the Father's Estate
Steven was not located or heard from until January 2024, when his and Dawn's mother, Rosemary Spellman, passed away. At that time, Steven made contact with Rosemary's estate trustee to demand his share of inheritance, providing contact information for his new home in Saskatchewan. The trustee provided this information to Dawn.
With up-to-date information about Steven's whereabouts, in April 2024, we helped Dawn to commence an action in Ontario to recover her missing inheritance from Donald’s estate. By May 2024, we obtained an order requiring Steven to account for the assets of Donald’s estate and freezing the distribution of Rosemary’s estate until he had done so.
Steven never defended the action, necessitating a series of third-party records production orders to trace Donald’s estate assets. Using those records, our firm was able to confirm that Steven transferred estate assets to himself totalling over $368,000. Most of the deceased’s funds and the proceeds of the sale of his home were transferred into Steven’s personal bank account, while he used about $31,000 of estate funds to purchase a new camper and recreational equipment for himself.
After hearing Dawn’s default judgment motion in October 2024, Wojciechowski J found that Steven “sole, converted or misappropriated” $178,201.21 of inheritance that ought to have been received by Dawn. His Honour awarded this sum to Dawn as general damages.
Aggravated Damages and Full Costs Awarded for Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Disrespect of Court Authority
Given the circumstances, the court also saw it appropriate to award Dawn aggravated, punitive, and exemplary damages, finding that Steven’s misconduct was “highhanded, self-serving, and shocking”.
Wojciechowski J observed that Dawn, as a senior living with a disability and health challenges, could have benefited from her inheritance had she received it when expected, 6 years earlier. His Honour found that Steven had “unequitably, illegally and immorally” distributed Donald’s estate to benefit himself, and had absconded from New Brunswick, ignoring court orders in two jurisdictions requiring him to account for or explain his actions.
Wojciechowski J relied on Spisak v. Spisak, 2023 ONSC 4726, and Queripel v. Shaddock et al, 2023 ONSC 3114, to conclude that Steven’s conduct was “egregious, abhorrent, and dismissive of court authority”. The facts of Queripel, in particular, mirrored Steven’s actions, involving an estate trustee who failed to communicate with the beneficiaries for a number of years, failed to account for the estate, was in breach of court orders, and failed to produce relevant documents.
His Honour concluded that, as in Queripel, $50,000 in aggravated damages was appropriate. Full costs were ordered in light of Steven’s failure to comply with previous orders to account for the estate.
The Mother's Estate is Redistributed to Compensate the Plaintiff
To assist Dawn in collecting her judgment, the court granted further relief requested in Dawn's motion, making orders varying the distribution of Rosemary’s estate.
His Honour ordered that a registered investment naming both of the parties as beneficiaries would be paid in its entirety to Dawn, with the balance of the funds owing to Dawn under the court’s order to be satisfied from Steven’s share of Rosemary’s estate. Steven would only receive the residual balance of his entitlement from Rosemary's estate after Dawn was paid all sums owing.
Final Word
This decision reflects the court's willingness to make orders at the time it renders judgment to assist parties in the enforcement of judgments, in appropriate circumstances, where it is clear that the debtor has engaged in dishonest conduct, and is likely to conceal assets and take steps to evade the court's authority.
Notably, the RCMP in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick were alerted to these frauds and thefts. They refused to investigate. The warrant for arrest in New Brunswick has never been executed.
The plaintiff was represented by Douglas W. Judson of Judson Howie LLP, with assistance from the Northwest Community Legal Clinic.
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