Refuse to pass accounts? Off to jail with you

This new case from Ontario should make out-of-control executors think twice about their refusal to conduct the estate properly. In Walling v. Walling, the beneficiaries of an estate got tired of trying to get the estate executor to deal with the estate and his refusal to account for what he'd done so far.  They applied to the court for help, and the court ordered the executor to pass his accounts, and fined him $1,000. He still didn't pass them so he was fined again for $1,500. By this time the judges were sick of him too so when he still failed to pass his accounts, he was put in jail for 7 days for contempt of court, and ordered to pay costs of $2,000.

Obviously I don't know why this executor refused to pass his accounts. But whatever the reason, I hope it was worth $4,500 and a week in jail. So far.

Read the full case here.