Lobsinger - Alberta Court of King’s Bench declines to pronounce on whether trust property had vested indefeasibly as this was the central issue already before the Tax Court

The applicant (Lobsinger) stated:

• on June 16, 2017 the trustees of the Lobsinger Family Trust resolved that the trust property and all interests in it would vest equally among the three beneficiaries of the trust (who were Lobsinger’s children) before the trust's 21st anniversary on October 31, 2017;
• subsequently, on October 10, 2017, a majority of the trustees confirmed that the vesting would take effect on October 15, 2017; and
• Lobsinger then instructed counsel to prepare documentation to evidence this decision - but it was not prepared until after CRA commenced its audit, in 2019.

CRA reassessed on the basis that the trust realized a gain on its 21st anniversary. An appeal to the Tax Court had been held in abeyance to allow Lobsinger to bring this application: he sought a declaration that the trust property and all interests in the trust property vested indefeasibly on October 15, 2017 and, alternatively, sought an order vesting the trust property and all interests in it equally among the beneficiaries of the trust, nunc pro tunc, as of October 15, 2017.

In declining to exercise jurisdiction over this application, Brookes J stated:

Where a provincial Superior Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Tax Court, it should exercise that jurisdiction only over issues that are ancillary, rather than fundamental, to the tax proceeding … .

The issue of whether the Trust property vested indefeasibly on October 15, 2017, is neither subordinate nor incidental to the reassessment. It is the central issue in the ongoing Tax Court appeal.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of Lobsinger v Lobsinger Family Trust, 2026 ABKB 671 under ITA s. 171.