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1. INTRODUCTION
Since the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) in Pecore v. Pecore1 in 2007, it is well-established2 that the presumption of resulting trust rather than the presumption of advancement should apply where a parent, providing all the funds, enters into a joint bank account agreement with adult children. The funds are held by the surviving children for the parent's estate on the death of the parent. Pecore also established that the resulting trust comes into existence on the opening of the account. In a recent decision, Sawdon Estate v. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada,3 the Ontario Court of Appeal applied Pecore, but also investigated more closely what it means in equity to make a finding of resulting trust, in a fact situation where the two surviving joint account holder children were expected by their late father to distribute the funds, amounting to C$1.1 M, equally among all five children, including one with disabilities. The interest of the case is found in this closer exploration of the nature of the legal interests in the funds in the joint account. The fact that the decision for the court was written by Gillese J.A., a wellknown authority on trust law,4 adds authority to the analysis and the result in the case. Joint bank accounts have been the subject of numerous cases over the years partly because disputes over money among family members has been around since families, but also because the cases had been divided on which presumption, of resulting trust or advancement, is more appropriate in legal analysis, as well as the legal and equitable or beneficial interests resulting from the application of those presumptions. Saxvdon brings greater clarity to the area.
2. THE FACTS
In the few years immediately before his death, the father transferred seven bank accounts into joint accounts with two of his sons; he had five children. The father told a bank employee who gave evidence that he wanted his children to have the money in the accounts without going through probate and that his two sons "knew what to do with the money". Right of survivorship in the accounts accrued to the father and the two sons. The sons' evidence was that they were...