A Dutch man who split his time between the Netherlands and Canada, where he owned several gold claims, left a woman who says she was his spouse and his siblings with many questions when he died in Surrey more than three years ago.
The unravelling of Lucas Knol’s estate and who can rightly claim has ended up in B.C. Supreme Court, where Justice David Crerar heard a petition from Emiko Imafuku, who says Knol lived with her in her New Westminster condo while in B.C., and an application by his two Dutch siblings.
Imafuku asked the B.C. court to recognize a will found in Knol’s computer, in which she’s named executor and primary beneficiary for his Canadian assets, while a Dutch lawyer and Knol’s long-time friend, Erik Schriemer, is executor and beneficiary for his Netherlands assets, Crerar wrote.
Knol’s will left nothing to his siblings, Frederik Knol and Rensje Knol, as he wanted to ensure they did not receive anything from his estate because of a fight in the Netherlands over their mother’s estate, according to the ruling.
Crerar ruled in favour of siblings request to examine his income tax returns, all other documents and his computer, on which Imafuku said he left the will, according to Crerar’s ruling.
The siblings also want the courts to determine if Dutch courts have jurisdiction over the estate, a question Crerar ruled should be decided before any further B.C. court action.
The case is further complicated by the uncertainty of the value of Knol’s estate, made up of bank accounts, vehicles and personal property in Canada, and accounts, vehicles, personal property and an interest in a farmhouse in the Netherlands, he said.
His assets in B.C. amount to less than $100,000 but, “The gold stakes in the Yukon — of which I understand there are several — are a significant mystery,” wrote Crerar.
He said the court was told they were could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but, “They could be worthless. Certainly it would not be the first time that an aspiring gold miner made an exaggerated claim.”
He added: “The value of his estate in Canada, let alone the world, remains a significant mystery.”
Imafuku filed her petition to the B.C. court in 2022, claiming she had been in a common-law spousal relationship with Knol for about 15 years before he died in 2021, according to the judgment.
She said he wrote the will, with help from Schriemer, in 2020 when he was being treated for heart problems, and she submitted photos and Christmas cards of the two of them engaged in activities together over the years. Crerar wrote that she would have a “strong case” that they were spouses.
But his siblings say there are “many mysteries” surrounding Imafuku’s affidavit statements and the will itself, which hadn’t been signed or notarized even though it was written 18 months before he died, according to the judgment.
They also said Knol had never spoken to them or his Dutch friends about Imafuku or he referred to her as a girlfriend, housemate or business partner, it said. And while he told her he hadn’t seen his siblings in 20 years, he visited with them regularly at their mother’s house during that time, Crerar said.
The siblings also told the court in their affidavits that when Knol was in the Netherlands he would stay with friends, citing a lack of money, and that before his death he lived with another woman, but it wasn’t clear if it was a romantic relationship, Crerar wrote.
And they point out the will on the computer lists his Canadian residence as being in the Yukon and Imafuku’s New Westminster condo as his mailing address, he said.