The biological children of an Abbotsford man will be allowed to fight his will, which left them nothing because he believed he was sterile and they were the result of his wives’ affairs.
But the two half-siblings, Ryo Schrader, 35, and Richard Fredette, 67, first have to find $220,000 from the sale of Albert Fredette’s condo two months before his death, according to a judgment in B.C. Supreme Court.
The condo was sold in 2023 for $240,000, yet his estate at his death consisted of $20,000 and the executor, Shao Min Qin, the dead man’s friend, has refused to try to find the rest of the money, according to court documents.
Justice Gareth Morley ruled on Oct. 4 that Schrader and Richard Fredette can contest the will because “they are the deceased’s biological children” and that an action to recover the amount transferred to unknown third parties is necessary to protect the estate.
And he ruled that Qin acted improperly as executor by trying to prevent the children from finding out what happened to the money because she believed she was respecting Fredette’s wishes that the children receive no part of his estate.
“This was an improper motive, no matter how sincerely held,” he said.
The half-siblings’ father died at age 91 less than a year after signing a will that left anything remaining after he paid his debts and funeral costs to the young daughter of Wei Wen Vivian Jin. Jin was the widow of Albert Fredette’s nephew, according to the will.
In his will, Fredette said he wanted Jin’s daughter to inherit his estate “because (she) and her mother take care of me.”
Jin was the listing realtor for the sale of Fredette’s condo in April 2023, according to the lawsuit filed against her and her two daughters, Qin, Fredette’s estate, and Jane Doe.
Fredette’s children filed the lawsuit in March to have the $220,000 transfer from Fredette’s estate declared invalid, arguing he was under due influence of the defendants, and to have the court order the executor to provide a full accounting of assets.
Fredette’s 2022 will says, “I raised two children, Rick and Maria, but they are not my children as I was sterile in my early age.”
Maria is a reference to Gloria Maria Fredette, who changed her name to Ryo Schrader in 2020.
His will also said, “More so, they never treated me as their father” because they failed to visit him or have a relationship with him. “I do not want that they should inherit anything out of my estate.”
Schrader and Richard Fredette said in their lawsuit that their father suffered from paranoia and delusions throughout his life, including that he believed his wives were having affairs and his children were not his, despite genetic tests showing they were.
Schrader, an artist who lives in Airdrie, Alta., and Fredette, retired and living in Winnipeg, said in their lawsuit that they “maintained a relationship with the deceased throughout his life, especially in their younger years.”
They allege Albert Fredette, who lived in assisted living after he sold his condo, was not of sound mind and “was acting under the undue influence of the defendants Vivian and the executor.”
They also said he didn’t understand the nature and effect of the transfer of the $220,000 from his estate.
They allege if there was any estrangement, it was because he distanced himself despite their attempts to maintain a strong relationship.
Morley, who was ruling on a preliminary phase in the will variance action, said it is the executor’s duty to protect the estate, and “not prefer any particular beneficiary” or to favour the interests of a person the deceased left money to.
He ordered Qin pay court costs so far and to not take them out of the estate because she “so clearly went beyond her role” as executor.
The substantive allegations in the lawsuit have not been tested in court.
Qin has filed an application asking the courts to strike the claims of undue influence and lack of capacity. It has yet to be heard.
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