Manitoba Court of Appeal sees no trust relationship between spouses during husband’s incapacity

In an estate property matter, the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against a decision that a trust relationship did not commence between spouses during the husband’s incapacity, such that his daughter deserved an accounting pertaining to that period. 

Cameron v Cameron, 2026 MBCA 19, revolved around Mr. Cameron’s estate property. The applicant was Mr. Cameron’s daughter, while the respondent was Mr. Cameron’s wife and the applicant’s stepmother. 

After a cardiac arrest, Mr. Cameron became mentally and physically incapacitated on Apr. 20, 2018. Before the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, his parents and the respondent had competing applications for a committee order over his property under s. 75(2) of Manitoba’s Mental Health Act. 

While the adjudication was pending, Mr. Cameron passed away without a will on July 31, 2020. 

The respondent did not apply for letters of administration of the estate under r. 74 of the King’s Bench Rules, Man Reg 553/88. She claimed that the insolvent estate had no assets. 

The applicant applied for relief as an estate beneficiary under Manitoba’s Intestate Succession Act. She sought an order to: 

• Declare that the respondent held the estate assets and income under an express, constructive, or resulting trust for the applicant’s benefit 
• Disclose the financial records of all business entities Mr. Cameron had operated beginning in April 2018 
• Require the respondent to provide an accounting of Mr. Cameron’s assets and debts from April 2018 to the present 
• Compel the respondent to pass the estate accounts from April 2018 

Last year, a Court of King’s Bench judge ordered that: 

1. A trust relationship did not arise between Mr. Cameron and the respondent during the incapacity period 
2. The applicant was not entitled to an accounting of her father’s assets and debts during the incapacity period 
3. The applicant was entitled to an accounting of his assets, money received, disbursements, and inventory of immovable and movable assets from July 31, 2020, to the present 

The applicant appealed the first and second items of the judge’s order. She alleged that the application judge: 

• made factual and legal errors 
• should have determined that a trust relationship began between Mr. Cameron and the respondent during the incapacity period 
• should have found the applicant entitled to an accounting from the respondent for her management of Mr. Cameron’s financial affairs during that period 

No trust found

The Court of Appeal of Manitoba dismissed the appeal with costs. The appeal court saw no error in the application judge’s findings. 

The appeal court acknowledged that Mr. Cameron was an in-patient in a long-term care facility during the incapacity period until his death, with the respondent looking after all his care expenses and continuing to spend time with him. 

The appeal court ruled that a trust relationship did not exist between Mr. Cameron and the respondent during the incapacity period. According to the appeal court, Mr. Cameron had not expressly executed any form of trust document before his incapacity. 

The appeal court explained that the affidavit evidence and cross-examination transcripts did not support the creation of a trust relationship during the incapacity period. The appeal court added that no extrinsic evidence showed his intentions to establish an implied trust. 

Next, the appeal court addressed the applicant’s argument that a constructive trust arose in the circumstances. The appeal court noted that the applicant did not make this argument before the judge. 

The appeal court held that the evidence did not support the creation of a constructive trust. The appeal court found that: 

• No fiduciary duty existed between the respondent and Mr. Cameron during the incapacity period 
• They were a wife and husband, not a trustee and beneficiary 
• The court below did not issue a committee order over Mr. Cameron’s property 

The appeal court noted that Mr. Cameron and the respondent had been married for nearly nine years at the time of his incapacity and jointly held most of their assets. The appeal court added that the respondent ran their household, met her husband’s financial needs, and emotionally supported him in the two years leading up to his death. 

The appeal court did not find the applicant entitled to an accounting from the respondent for managing Mr. Cameron’s financial affairs during the incapacity period.