An in-trust claim is a claim for services provided free of charge by a family member that you otherwise would have had to pay someone to provide. An award can be made for the services provided and paid to the plaintiff in a personal injury action in-trust for the person who provided the services.
While the concept of an in-trust claim is relatively straightforward, the law surrounding it and how it is applied by the courts is more complex and inconsistent, leading to a lack of certainty as to how to approach such claims approaching trial.
The Legal Test for In-Trust Claims
The legal test for an in-trust claim was laid out in Bystedt v. Hay,2001 BCSC 1735 at para. 180, aff’d 2004 BCCA 124, and in order to seek an award for damages under an in-trust claim you have to prove that:
- (a) the services provided must replace