An Ontario court ordered a widower to vacate the condo he shared with his common law wife — but it also ordered that the estate must pay him monthly support for life, despite being left out of the will.
According to a decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, when Heather Ruth Brown died suddenly in late 2023, she left her entire estate to her adult daughter and nothing to her common law spouse, Michael Allmendinger.
In 2024, the estate applied to the court seeking to take possession of the condo that Brown and Allmendinger lived in, which was solely owned by Brown — but Allmendinger refused to move out.
Separately, he filed an application seeking support under legislation that provides for the court to order support for dependents that aren’t adequately provided for in a will.
In this case, the court granted both applications. It ordered that Allmendinger must leave the condo, but also ordered that he’s entitled to financial support from the estate, even though there’s no evidence that she intended to provide for him in her will.
“Ms. Brown’s property was hers to dispose of as she saw fit,” the court said. “However, the practical reality is that she entered a ten-year relationship with a dependent who had no assets and his only means of support was federal benefits.”
As a result, the court found that while he has no claim to the condo and that it now belongs to the estate, it also must pay support to him for the rest of his life, as he meets the definition of a dependent — he never worked during their relationship, and his only source of income was Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits.
“Given his age, reported health, and work history, … the court finds that it is unlikely that Mr. Allmendinger will be able to provide for his own support (financially) in future,” the court said.
At the same time, the court said that while he is entitled to support from the estate, “this is not a windfall for Mr. Allmendinger.” He’s to receive a level of support from the estate that’s in line with the support he was receiving from Brown.
To that end, the court ordered the estate to begin paying him $1,300 monthly for living expenses starting Sept. 1, which rises to $3,300 per month once he finds new housing. He has until Oct. 15 to leave the condo.
It also ordered the estate to pay $37,175 in support for the period between Brown’s death and the end of August.
The court noted that the estate trustee is responsible for ensuring that the estate meets its support obligations, which will remain in force for the rest of Allmendinger’s life.