Canada - Barry, 75, & Honey Sherman, 70, found dead, Toronto, 15 Dec 2017 #11

[Tighthead]

Thank you for your insight Tighthead. I understand why the old one would be destroyed if you write a new will. Thats the point- there would be a new will. I just find it very hard to believe that HS, would not have had a will, and would have relied on Ontario statutory provisions to determine how her estate would be settled. I know there are wealthy people who have died without wills (Aretha Franklin comes to mind), but surely for folks with this sort of wealth this is unusual.

What I was trying to explain is once you make the decision to revoke your existing will, you destroy it immediately. It might be a day, a week or a month before you are ready or able to execute the new one. It may not be advisable to wait through the administrative delay with the old will still in existence.

Furthermore, it’s advisable to destroy an old will but the new will would invalidate it anyway.

 

[Arnie M]

Thinking out loud ..... I presume someone like Honey would use her lawyer to draw up her will .... would he not also keep a "copy" of it in his records?

I say that because of a nearby house fire that killed both (retired) parents (and their wills were also burned) but their lawyer had a photo copy in his records which the surviving children and judge agreed to accepted in lieu of the original.

I am not saying the copy was a legal document on par with the original , but it certainly indicated the wishes of the parents and the family followed those wishes.

 

[Tighthead]

Thinking out loud ..... I presume someone like Honey would use her lawyer to draw up her will .... would he not also keep a "copy" of it in his records?

I say that because of a nearby house fire that killed both (retired) parents (and their wills were also burned) but their lawyer had a photo copy in his records which the surviving children and judge agreed to accepted in lieu of the original.

I am not saying the copy was a legal document on par with the original , but it certainly indicated the wishes of the parents and the family followed those wishes.

When a will can’t be located the presumption at law is that the testator revoked it by destruction. In the circumstances you describe, the evidence rebuts the presumption.

 

[casesensitive]

I think I posted about this earlier, if an original will is lost, it is possible to apply to have a signed copy of the will validated. If HB did not have a copy with her lawyer, I assume that there is nothing that can be done.

"If all persons who have an interest in the estate consent to the will being proven in court, the process is relatively straightforward. Affidavit evidence may be filed along with the application, and the court may declare the Will to be valid based solely on the affidavit evidence, which satisfies the four elements above.
The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Sorkos v. Cowderoy, outlines the legal test for determining whether a lost will can be proven. Specifically, a party wishing to prove the lost will must:

1. Establish due execution of the will;
2. Trace possession of the will to the testator’s date of death (and subsequently, if the will was lost after death);
3. Rebut the presumption that the testator destroyed the will with the intention of revoking it; and
4. Prove the contents of the lost will."

In Ontario, rule 75 and rule 76 of the Rules of Civil Procedure set out the process to be followed when proving a lost will.
https://hullandhull.com/2015/07/what-happens-if-only-a-photocopy-of-the-will-can-be-found/

 

[casesensitive]

Tom Blackwell
May 13, 2019

Apotex among 20 generic drug firms accused of vast U.S. price-fixing scheme
"In the summer of 2013, Canadian-based Apotex and two other generic drug companies each increased the U.S. price of their versions of a blood-pressure medicine by a staggering amount — 1,000 per cent.

According to an eye-opening lawsuit filed by 44 American states, the price hikes for doxazosin were no coincidence.

The various manufacturers of low-cost prescription-drug copies are supposed to be competitors, their rivalry theoretically leading to cheaper drugs.

But in the days before the last of the three firms — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries — raised its price, the Israeli-based company’s director of national accounts, Nisha Patel, spoke by phone a number of times with an Apotex sales executive, the suit claims."

"Through phone calls, texts, golf outings, and “girls’ nights out”, the companies conspired to increase prices and agreed to share markets without undercutting their rivals, according to the civil suit, filed May 10 in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut.

Then, as government investigators closed in, Apotex and others tried to cover their tracks, destroying electronic evidence, the suit charges.

It may turn out to be the largest “cartel case” in U.S. history, says William Tong, Connecticut’s attorney general."

“Apotex denies the allegations made against it in the complaint as they are wholly without merit,” said Jordan Berman, the firm’s vice-president of corporate communications. “Apotex intends to vigorously defend the claims.”
rbbm.

This law suit by 44 US states is for unspecified damages, but fines could exceed $2 billion dollars. Current and former executives of top generic drug makers were sued.

If BS transferred assets to his wife and kids, and sister to protect his assets in the Winter law suit, he could have acted on this ominous US suit coming (he would be aware of the investigation) and transferred huge amounts to Honey (and others). It is legal to do so before a law suit is filed against you if you do it quickly before you're sued. Honey's estate could have been increased by many millions of dollars to protect BS assets.

If this happened, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did, Honey's lost will seems more relevant. jmo

 

[MistyWaters]

This law suit by 44 US states is for unspecified damages, but fines could exceed $2 billion dollars. Current and former executives of top generic drug makers were sued.

If BS transferred assets to his wife and kids, and sister to protect his assets in the Winter law suit, he could have acted on this ominous US suit coming (he would be aware of the investigation) and transferred huge amounts to Honey (and others). It is legal to do so before a law suit is filed against you if you do it quickly before you're sued. Honey's estate could have been increased by many millions of dollars to protect BS assets.

If this happened, and I wouldn't be surprised if it did, Honey's lost will seems more relevant. jmo

That Apotex employs an entire division of attorneys, reportedly had a succession plan in place but a major shareholder, we are to believe, either didn’t have a will or nobody could find it, would only fit a scenario where Honey was expected to handwrite her own will or buy a do-it-yourself Will kit from a bookstore and nobody knows if she did or not.

A reporter asking the question, “did Honey have a will?” is not enough proof for me that she didn’t have one. If Donovan was aware of the content of the sealed estate files, he wouldn’t have to seek to have them unsealed.

 

[Tighthead]

That Apotex employs an entire division of attorneys, reportedly had a succession plan in place but a major shareholder, we are to believe, either didn’t have a will or nobody could find it, would only fit a scenario where Honey was expected to handwrite her own will or buy a do-it-yourself Will kit from a bookstore and nobody knows if she did or not.

A reporter asking the question, “did Honey have a will?” is not enough proof for me that she didn’t have one. If Donovan was aware of the content of the sealed estate files, he wouldn’t have to seek to have them unsealed.

Why specifically does it not fit a scenario where she had a will drafted by a lawyer and destroyed it?

 

[casesensitive]

Why specifically does it not fit a scenario where she had a will drafted by a lawyer and destroyed it?

Can anyone think of reasons why Honey would destroy her will and risk dying intestate? I tend to think if indeed her will is missing, it wasn't her intent. I also find it incredible if a copy is also missing. I can't image her using a will kit or devising a will on her own. If she did, who witnessed it? It has to be witnessed by a non-family member.

 

[Tighthead]

Can anyone think of reasons why Honey would destroy her will and risk dying intestate? I tend to think if indeed her will is missing, it wasn't her intent. I also find it incredible if a copy is also missing. I can't image her using a will kit or devising a will on her own. If she did, who witnessed it? It has to be witnessed by a non-family member.

This was discussed yesterday.

She may not have finalized a new will yet, but something in the old one was repugnant to her. For people who don’t have second spouses and blended families, intestacy isn’t terrible. You yourself ask why risk it? Obviously if she was of the opinion that the greater risk was dying with a will she didn’t like. That’s far from unreasonable.

If a bequest in a will is abhorrent to the testator, in many cases it is advisable to destroy it immediately instead of waiting to see a lawyer, get advice, wait for the will to be drafted, reviewed and executed.

There has been no determination that there is no copy. Again, as per yesterday, if the will is missing, the presumption is that it was destroyed. A copy is of no use of that presumption can’t be rebutted.

 

[casesensitive]

If a bequest in a will is abhorrent to the testator, in many cases it is advisable to destroy it immediately instead of waiting to see a lawyer, get advice, wait for the will to be drafted, reviewed and executed.

rsbm

You may be correct Tighthead that it is advisable in many cases to destroy your will without a new one, but that isn't the advice listed bleow.

Risks of Destroying a Will Without Creating a New One
What if you want to revoke your current will, but aren't sure what a new one should say, or you don't have time to get around to making one right now? Why isn't it enough to tear up the old will or throw it into the fireplace?

For starters, even if you destroy the original will, there might be copies lying around. Probate courts sometimes accept copies of a will, instead of the original, if there's a good enough reason. For example, say an adult child, angry at being cut out of his father's will, destroys the original document. If the other siblings can produce a copy -- and show evidence that the disinherited sibling is responsible for the disappearance of the original -- a court might accept it. Otherwise, the wishes of the deceased parent would be thwarted.


The Best Way to Revoke a Will: Create a New One
To be on the safe side, follow this advice: If you want to revoke your will, don't rely on destroying the original. Make a new one that replaces the old. The new will should explicitly revoke all previous will and set out your new wishes. Then tear up the old will -- and every copy you can get your hands on.



://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/revoking-will-35012.html

 

[MistyWaters]

Why specifically does it not fit a scenario where she had a will drafted by a lawyer and destroyed it?

Why would Honey destroy a will without having another one in its place? Why wouldn’t she contact her estate lawyer to let them know she’d decided she wanted a new will written up? It’s not as if she knew in advance she was going to be murdered so she had to rip it up very quickly because she changed her mind.

As the home was listed for sale with a lock box on the door and she was planning to leave for Florida followed by her husband for a month, it’s possible they were hoping for a quick sale and everything of any importance was not kept in the home.

And just because there was no will last June doesn’t prove there was never no will found. The will that was produced for Barry early on may not have been his last will either as I think it’d be highly unusual if the same lawyer didn’t draw up both wills together.

Donovan obviously does not have the answer - it’ll be found within the estate files sooner or later.

 

[ldlager]

I would think and hope that LE would be most interested in knowing that HS had disinherited one of the kids in an earlier will if that was in fact the case. I wonder though how they could obtain that information?
Sometimes I wonder if we are making this way more complicated than it needs to be. My simple guesses are 1) they were murdered and displayed for a very specific reason; 2)it relates to non Apotex business activities that Barry was involved in; and 3) LE really has no real clue who did it.

I’m sure that LE would also like to know if HS may have destroyed her will because she was planning on disinheriting one or more parties

 

[Lexiintoronto]

On the Thursday morning at 9:45 a.m., a full day before the Sherman bodies were discovered, homeowners down the road from the Shermans answered a knock on their door. The Star has agreed not to identify the homeowners or their exact address. They live roughly 10 houses away on Old Colony.

The man at the door was a uniformed police officer asking if someone in their home had made a 911 call. The homeowners said no. The officer shared few details, but said police believed it came from the homeowners’ house, but did not say if the call had come from a cellular phone or a landline. The officer did not say what time the call came in.

The next day, when news surfaced late in the afternoon of the Shermans’ bodies being discovered, one of the homeowners happened to be driving near Toronto Police Services 33 Division (the local division that was at the time investigating the Shermans’ deaths before the homicide unit took over). The homeowner went in to make a report, wanting to alert them to the fact a police officer had been on Old Colony Rd. the day before.

Barry and Honey Sherman’s neighbours cite mysterious 911 call, visitor on day before billionaires found dead | The Star

 

[dotr]

Barry and Honey Sherman’s neighbours cite mysterious 911 call, visitor on day before billionaires found dead | The Star

Stranger and stranger!
"On the Thursday morning at 9:45 a.m., a full day before the Sherman bodies were discovered, homeowners down the road from the Shermans answered a knock on their door. The Star has agreed not to identify the homeowners or their exact address. They live roughly 10 houses away on Old Colony.

The man at the door was a uniformed police officer asking if someone in their home had made a 911 call. The homeowners said no. The officer shared few details, but said police believed it came from the homeowners’ house, but did not say if the call had come from a cellular phone or a landline. The officer did not say what time the call came in.

The next day, when news surfaced late in the afternoon of the Shermans’ bodies being discovered, one of the homeowners happened to be driving near Toronto Police Services 33 Division (the local division that was at the time investigating the Shermans’ deaths before the homicide unit took over). The homeowner went in to make a report, wanting to alert them to the fact a police officer had been on Old Colony Rd. the day before."

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Just pointing out something Kerry Winter wrote, putting it in the context of what the Star has now reported.

-The Star and the CBC reported that Barry likely arrived home around 9:00 pm the night of the murders.

-Kerry Winter said he knows Barry was alive 6-9 hours after Honey was killed.

-At 9:11 am the morning after they are last seen alive, a man is seen on CCTV cameras for over an hour at the Sherman home. He spends a total of 29 minutes inside the home, going back and forth to his car.

- at 9:45 am the same morning a uniformed police officer responded to a 911 call at a neighbouring home, although the home owners did not make the call.



Kerry Winter. July, 2018:

Detective B. Price’s reaction when told re. 6-9 hrs time of Honey’s death to Barry’s gave it away. He’s not a very good poker player. Looked as if to say, “how the hell could he know that”.
Don’t need further confirmation. BTW: that’s exactly how my 4 hour interrogation/Q+A went with Price.

Canada - Barry, 75, & Honey Sherman, 70, found dead, Toronto, 15 Dec 2017 #8

Honey is believed to have arrived home around 7:30 p.m. and Barry around 9 p.m. His last email was from his desk computer at Apotex at 8:13 p.m. that night.

While Barry and Honey Sherman lay dead in the basement pool room of their Toronto home a lone man went in and out of their house three times, according to an account of security camera footage seized by Toronto police.

Between 9:11 a.m. and 10:16 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, the man walked from a four-door sedan parked in front of the Sherman house on Old Colony Rd., appears to enter the Sherman house through the front door, then comes back outside. He does this three times, for a total of 29 minutes inside the Sherman home, before driving off.

29 minutes inside Barry and Honey Sherman’s home: Who was the visitor?

On the Thursday morning at 9:45 a.m., a full day before the Sherman bodies were discovered, homeowners down the road from the Shermans answered a knock on their door. The Star has agreed not to identify the homeowners or their exact address. They live roughly 10 houses away on Old Colony.

Barry and Honey Sherman’s neighbours cite mysterious 911 call, visitor on day before billionaires found dead | The Star

 

[ldlager]

Stranger and stranger!
"On the Thursday morning at 9:45 a.m., a full day before the Sherman bodies were discovered, homeowners down the road from the Shermans answered a knock on their door. The Star has agreed not to identify the homeowners or their exact address. They live roughly 10 houses away on Old Colony.

The man at the door was a uniformed police officer asking if someone in their home had made a 911 call. The homeowners said no. The officer shared few details, but said police believed it came from the homeowners’ house, but did not say if the call had come from a cellular phone or a landline. The officer did not say what time the call came in.

The next day, when news surfaced late in the afternoon of the Shermans’ bodies being discovered, one of the homeowners happened to be driving near Toronto Police Services 33 Division (the local division that was at the time investigating the Shermans’ deaths before the homicide unit took over). The homeowner went in to make a report, wanting to alert them to the fact a police officer had been on Old Colony Rd. the day before."

The systems to identify the location of 911 calls appear to me to be very robust and accurate. I and others I work with have mistakenly dialled 911 from my office before, in a large office tower, and then hung up not realizing what we had done. The police call back immediately to verify the call and to ask if it is an emergency. They even knew my name when they called me back to confirm. When this happened a second time a few weeks later to a co-worker, and he didn’t answer the police telephone call, the officers were there at our specific office within 5-10 minutes max. So I don’t think that LE had the wrong house.
However, if LE responded to a 911 call from the Sherman house I don’t know why an unmarked police vehicle would show up, surely a squad car would have responded. I don’t know if the video of the Sherman house was clear enough to identify it as a squad car, I guess not.
But i would be interested to know if a police officer responded to a 911 call from the Sherman house and got no response at the door, what procedure would they follow to determine whether there was an emergency inside? Or would they have just left?

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Hamilton Spectator‏Verifizierter Account @TheSpec 14 Min.Vor 14 Minuten
Toronto Police were investigating a mysterious 911 call down the street from Barry and Honey Sherman's home at the same time as the Apotex founder and his wife lay dead or dying.

 

[tarabull]

A telephone company representative says line crossing can occur during tower upgrades???...FWIW

 

[ldlager]

The systems to identify the location of 911 calls appear to me to be very robust and accurate. I and others I work with have mistakenly dialled 911 from my office before, in a large office tower, and then hung up not realizing what we had done. The police call back immediately to verify the call and to ask if it is an emergency. They even knew my name when they called me back to confirm. When this happened a second time a few weeks later to a co-worker, and he didn’t answer the police telephone call, the officers were there at our specific office within 5-10 minutes max. So I don’t think that LE had the wrong house.
However, if LE responded to a 911 call from the Sherman house I don’t know why an unmarked police vehicle would show up, surely a squad car would have responded. I don’t know if the video of the Sherman house was clear enough to identify it as a squad car, I guess not.
But i would be interested to know if a police officer responded to a 911 call from the Sherman house and got no response at the door, what procedure would they follow to determine whether there was an emergency inside? Or would they have just left?

In what urgent situations can the police enter my home? | CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario / Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario)

Police can enter the home for many reasons including to give aid in an emergency, or to respond to a 911 call.
So now I have to wonder if police possibly responded to a 911 call at the Sherman house and either 1) didn’t go in the house, or 2) went in and didn’t search the entire house. Perhaps this is the reason thatLE has been so secretive about this whole situation- protecting themselves! Can you imagine what a furor this could cause if it was shown to be true? I hope Donovan can get to the truth here.

 

[Deleted member 102539]

Ann Brocklehurst‏ @AnnB03 3 Std.Vor 3 Stunden
Ann Brocklehurst retweetet
Well, the cops know the number of the phone that called 911. And unless it was a burner, they have an explanation for how the call came to pass. So much that’s a mystery to us is not a mystery to the cops