Adding a child's name to an account does not settle the answer
A parent may add a daughter to an account intending to make an immediate gift, or simply to let her pay bills, manage investments, or help with day-to-day affairs. The paperwork may look similar, but the ownership result after the parent's death can be very different.
Whether a lifetime transfer became a completed gift cannot be decided from the account title or receipt of funds alone. The review must consider the transferor's intention, delivery of the asset, who actually obtained withdrawal and control rights, and whether the contemporaneous documents and later conduct are consistent.
Buffa: why transfers exceeding $1.7 million were upheld as gifts
In Buffa v. Giacomelli, 2026 ONCA 566, a mother transferred investment-account proceeds into joint accounts with her daughter and named the daughter as beneficiary of her RRIF and TFSA. After the mother's death, her son sought to recover more than $1.7 million for the estate. The will otherwise provided 45% to the son and 55% to the daughter.
On August 6, 2026, the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the appeal and left the findings of valid inter vivos gifts in place. The result did not turn on the daughter's name alone. The evidence included the mother's directions, the daughter's ability to withdraw from the joint accounts, two written gift letters, and the broader family evidence showing donative intention when the assets were delivered.
The decision does not mean every joint account belongs to the child, nor that one gift letter resolves every dispute. Each asset, transfer mechanism, control right, and beneficiary designation requires its own review.
Why ownership comes before the percentages in the will
The 45% and 55% shares in a will apply only to property that enters the estate and can be administered under the will. An asset validly gifted during life, or transferred at death through a valid beneficiary designation or right of survivorship, may fall outside that distribution.
In Pecore v. Pecore, 2007 SCC 17, the Supreme Court of Canada explained that a gratuitous transfer from a parent to an independent adult child may attract a rebuttable presumption of resulting trust. When challenged, the person asserting a gift will generally need evidence of the transferor's intention at the time of transfer. A parent's reason for favouring or trusting one child is motive; the legal issue is whether there was an intention to make the gift. The two are not the same.
Evidence to preserve before making a substantial gift
While the parent can still explain the arrangement clearly, record the answers to these questions:
- Is this an immediate gift, an arrangement for management convenience, or an intended benefit only after death?
- Which asset, amount, or ownership interest is being transferred, and when is delivery complete?
- Who can withdraw, sell, reinvest, or revoke the arrangement, and does the transferor retain all practical control?
- Do the banking instructions, account forms, transfer records, professional notes, and gift documents tell the same story?
- Does the gift align with the will, beneficiary designations, arrangements for other children, and the overall estate plan?
- Are there capacity, undue-influence, or third-party-operation concerns that need legal review?
The document should reflect the transaction—not replace it after the fact
A gift letter can be important evidence, but it should match the actual flow of funds, delivery, and control. Buffa also illustrates that the relevant time for assessing donative intention is generally tied to delivery, when the donor parts with the necessary control. The timing and weight of any written statement must be assessed in context.
In an A+ Tax & Estate Review, we can organize account ownership, tax records, beneficiary designations, wills, and family goals to identify gaps between the arrangements. A qualified lawyer should advise on legal validity, required legal documents, capacity, undue influence, and dispute risk. A family planning a substantial transfer—or one that has already added a child to an account—can begin by gathering the account documents, transfer records, current will, and any gift records.